Maize

Maize (Zea mays L.) is one of the most versatile emerging crops shaving wider adaptability under varied agro-climatic conditions. Globally, maize is known as the queen of cereals because it has the highest genetic yield potential among the cereals. It is cultivated on nearly 190 m ha in about 165 countries having wider diversity of soil, climate, biodiversity and management practices that contributes to 39 % of the global grain production. The United States of America (USA) is the largest producer of maize contributes nearly 30.99% of the total production in the world in 2020 and maize is the driver of the US economy. In India, Maize is grown throughout the year. It is predominantly a Kharif crop with 85 percent of the area under cultivation during the season. Maize is the third most important cereal crop in India after rice and wheat. It accounts for around 10 percent of total food grain production in the country. India is also the fifth largest producer of Maize in 2020 as per FAO data and India’s share in world production accounted to be 2.59 per cent in the same year. In addition to staple food for human being and quality feed for animals, maize serves as a basic raw material as an ingredient in thousands of industrial products that includes starch, oil, protein, alcoholic beverages, food sweeteners, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, film, textile, gum, package and paper industries, etc.
Areas of Cultivation:
Major wheat-growing states in India are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
India's Production:
Production of maize is estimated to be 35.91 million tonnes in 2022-23 (3rd Advance Estimate).
Exports:
The country has exported 3,453,680.58 MT of maize to the world for the worth of Rs. 8,987.13 crores/ 1,116.17 USD Millions in 2022-23.
Major Export Destinations (2022-23): Bangladesh, Vietnam, Nepal, Malaysia and Sri Lanka.