Just when a pick-up in exports was expected to boost the depressed prices of maize, the commodity has received a bolt from the blue. The prices of the coarse grain could plunge as the outbreak of bird flu in parts of the country is likely to hit demand from the poultry sector, even as supply will increase in the next fortnight. Indian traders have signed contracts to export nearly 2 mln tn sugar to Indone-sia and Afghanistan over the next two months at $367-$393 per tn, free on board, industry sources said. The deals come after sugar prices hit multi-year highs last week. Prices of eggs have declined nearly 25% in a week in the major consumption and production areas due to reports of bird flu in several parts of the country. With Uttarakhand as the latest state to confirm the avian influenza, the infection has now spread across 10 states, including Delhi and Maharashtra. The government has procured 275,696 tn of oilseeds harvested in the 2020-21 (Jul-Jun) kharif season, from farmers in six states, at the minimum support price, as of Saturday, a government official said. India's wholesale inflation eased to a four-month low of 1.22% in December from 1.55% the previous month, mainly due to lower food prices, data released today by the commerce and industry ministry showed. India's vegetable oil imports rose over 20% on year to around 1.35 mln tn in December, The Solvent Extractors' Association of India said.
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