The Agro Market Intelligence and Business Promotion Centre (AMI and BPC) of the Department of Agricultural Marketing and Agri Business has advised farmers to sell maize upon harvest immediately as there will not be much increase in its price after March.
In a price advisory, the AMI and BPC had indicated that the price of good quality maize grains would prevail around Rs. 1250 - 1300 a quintal between February and March.
Maize grains with moisture content of less than 12 per cent, mature, and damage and impurity free are considered to be of good quality attracting better price.
The price advisory was based on an analysis of the prices that had prevailed in the Udumalpet regulated market for 12 years.
The analysis was done by the back office of AMI and BPC in the Centre for Agricultural and Rural Development Studies (CARDS), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, to provide market intelligence to farmers.
Arrivals from Udumalpet, Virudhunagar and Arrupukottai, Dindigul commence from mid-January onwards. Current arrival from Karnataka is expected to end with February.
The price of maize currently ranges from Rs.1,170 to 1,230 a quintal at the Udumalpet regulated market.
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the major maize producing states. Perambalur, Dindigul, Salem, Thoothukudi, Virudhunagar, Tirupur and Erode are the major maize growing districts, accounting for 72 per cent of total maize cultivated area and 69 per cent of production in Tamil Nadu.
During 2014-15 Rabi season, maize was mainly cultivated as rainfed crop in 23,355 hectare (ha) in Dindigul, 23,033 ha in Tirupur, 17,749 ha in Virudhunagar, 15,000 ha in Thoothukudi and 9,093 ha in Tirunelveli district.
