“The U.S. Corn Conspiracy Against India”, Goa Chronicles, October 12, 2025
“There is no missile pointed at India’s borders in this war. The weapon is yellow, starchy, and traded in millions of tonnes. It is corn. Behind the sweet rhetoric of trade partnerships and agricultural cooperation lies a quiet battle for markets, influence, and control – a battle the United States has waged for decades across continents, and one that now has its eyes firmly set on India.
In 2024, the United States harvested over 15 billion bushels of corn – around 383 million metric tonnes – maintaining its place as the world’s largest producer and exporter of corn. It exported over 62 million tonnes of it, earning roughly US$13.7 billion in value. The American Midwest runs on corn; the economy of its heartland depends on it. For every bushel grown, there must be a market to absorb it – whether for feed, ethanol, starch, or high-fructose syrup. When global demand shifts or a large buyer hesitates, the U.S. corn industry goes into overdrive to lobby, negotiate, and push its way in.
And India – the world’s most populous nation, with a rapidly expanding ethanol and poultry sector – is the next prize. India today produces around 35 to 36 million tonnes of maize annually. For years, it exported corn to neighboring markets. But that dynamic has changed dramatically. With the government’s ethanol blending program accelerating toward a 20% blending target, maize has transformed from an agricultural crop into a strategic energy feedstock. In just two years, corn-based ethanol production in India has jumped from 1 million tonnes to more than 6 million tonnes, and by 2025 it could cross 10 million tonnes if the blending mandate holds. The result: domestic demand now exceeds supply, and India has begun importing corn……”
Read full article at goachronicle.com
