Lockdown-hit corn starch makers find silver lining in downstream pharma

Although pharma accounts for 10-15% of corn starch supplies, manufacturers are looking to partly make up for loss in production, as offtake has received some support from the crash in input corn price

The domestic corn starch industry, whose capacity utilisation is down by nearly 50 per cent owing to the covid-19 lockdown, has found a silver lining in the downstream pharmaceutical space, which is among the sectors largely insulated from the pandemic crisis.

Although pharmaceuticals account for 10-15 per cent of corn starch supplies, manufacturers are looking to partly make up for the loss in production, as offtake has received some support from the crash in the input corn prices owing to the bumper crop this season.

Corn starch