Indian state-run trading company MMTC has for the fifth time postponed the deadline for offer submissions in an international tender to import yellow corn, this time to June 19, European traders said on Tuesday.

The deadline for offers was originally May 8 and had been postponed to May 15, to May 22, to June 6, and to June 12.

The tender seeks corn (maize) free of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).

The volume purchased will be decided by MMTC depending on the level of prices received. Traders are being asked to submit offers of at least 20,000 tonnes.

The MMTC is now asking for offers of corn for shipment between July 20 and August 20. Previous shipment period was July 15 and August 15. “I think Asian importers including India are hoping for a further fall in corn prices from the peaks at the end of May,” one European trader said.

Chicago corn futures rose to a near two-year high on May 28 as forecasts of heavy rain across key US growing regions threatened further delays to plantings.

India was previously a major corn exporter to southeast Asia but it has become an importer due to falling output and rising demand from poultry producers and corn starch manufacturers, which has raised domestic prices. Recent Indian corn import shipments have been reported from Ukraine, said to be the first in about three years.

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