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Maize seed firms fear slump in sales

Sohel Parvez
Maize seed sellers fear a drastic fall in sales because of farmers' reluctance to grow the crop in the wake of low prices resulting from closure of thousands of poultry farms due to outbreak of bird flu since early last year.
A government restriction on maize export and high fertiliser prices have also been blamed for low demand for maize, according to industry stakeholders.
Until last week, three leading maize seed sellers -- Brae, Monsanto and Syngenta -- have been able to sell over 30 percent of their last year's sales since the sowing season begins in September. The Rabi season for maize cultivation is expected to end this month, officials said.
They however retain hope that farmers might show interest after potato harvesting if price rebounds and fertiliser prices decline.
“We sold over 700 tonnes within November last year. But since the beginning of the current Rabi season our total sales stand at over 200 tonnes," said Mostafa Kamal, regional sales coordinator of Monsanto, the second biggest seller of maize seed last year.
Kamal however hoped that farmers might plan to grow maize in late Rabi and Kharif-1 (January-March) seasons after harvesting potato. "Farmers may show interest in planting maize if the price of maize rebounds and fertiliser prices decline," he said.
Maize cultivation is set to face a setback for the first time in Bangladesh after it recorded gradual increase since late 1990s.
According to Department of
Agricultural Extension, total production of maize hit a record high at over 20 lakh tonnes in the last crop season from about 12 lakh tonnes the previous season, as farmers expanded their cultivation area. The price of maize had been on the uptick on global market since 2006.
According to World Bank's data, maize price per tonne hit its highest in April-June period this year and then started to fall amid economic meltdown in developed economies.
In November, the average price of maize per tonne stood at $163.8, down from $183.1 in October.
Industry insiders however said farmers failed to reap the benefit of high price of maize on the global market due to low demand after the closure of thousands of poultry farms, mainly layer ones, on bird flu outbreak.
A restriction on maize export by the government in August this year
also affected farmers. The government in August set a minimum price at $600 a tonne to discourage exporting maize.
In the local market, the lowest price for each kilogram of maize was fixed at Tk 13 to safeguard farmers from losses.
A farmer in Sherpur of northern district Bogra said each maund of maize (dry) is being sold at between Tk 450 and Tk 460, which is lower than the minimum price ofTk 520 a maund, fixed by the government in August in line with its move to fix an export price of $600 a tonne.
"We are getting a maund of maize at between Tk 450 and Tk 460. But in April, the price was Tk 520," Mohammad Yunus, a farmer in Sherpur of Bogra, told The Daily Star over phone.
He said he would grow maize only on eight bighas of land this season down from 22 bighas last season.
"Buyers offered low prices on the ground of bird flu. It's frustrating after spending money and energy. I got Tk 1 lakh less than my expectation ofTk 4 lakh," said Yunus, citing that he earlier had chalked a plan of growing maize in 25 bighas of land subject to better return.
"It's frustrating. Now I have changed my plan. This year many farmers like me are growing mustard instead of maize in majority of their lands,” he said.
Sudhir Chandra Nath, programme manager of Agro Marketing Division of Brae, feared that maize production might drop to a half compared to last year.
"It’s a very bad situation. Fanners are shifting to other crops mainly due to low price,” he said, adding that Brae sold around 1,240 tonnes of seed in the last crop season.
"We have been able to sell about 450 tonnes of seed this season. An additional 60 tonnes may be sold during the rest of the period of the season," he said.
Mohammad Adam Ali, director of Sales of Syngenta (Bangladesh), said the company has sold around 100 tonnes of seed this season, down from 700 tonnes a year ago.
Mizanul Haque, secretary general of Maize Association of Bangladesh, said: “Last year we had surplus production. But we would not face such a situation if the government allowed us to export last year* he said.
Special Assistant to Chief Adviser Manik Lal Samaddar, who is in charge o/ the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, said the government would consider reviewing the restriction on maize export after collecting field level data.
sohel@thedailyslar.net