Maize exporters to meet Kamal Nath tomorrow

Kakinada, Jul 8 (UNI) A delegation of the South India Maize Exporters Association will leave for New Delhi tomorrow to meet Union Minister for Commerce Kamal Nath to demand relaxation of ban on Maize exports even as the authorities permitted loading of Maize in to the ships already berthed at the anchorage port.

The delegation, led by Vinod Agarwal, would demand for relaxation of ban to the extent based on the existing LCs.

Earlier, the authorities had given a temporary permission to load Maize in to the ships already berthed at the anchorage port. Of the eight ships anchored, prior to the imposition of ban, one ship sailed away empty on Saturday due to uncertainty over permitting the loading. Another ship, which was fully loaded, sailed away yesterday. The loading of about 70,000 MTs of Maize was now in progress on to the remaining six ships.

''If the government will not favourably consider our request to allow shipments on to the vessels already berthed, we would incur heavy loss on account of payment of demurrages,'' Ramakrishna, one of the exporters, told UNI.

He said the government should either relax the ban or purchase the existing stock of 200,000 MTs of Maize worth Rs 200 crore.

UNI XC VA DS 1720