Poultry boom drives corn demand in Pakistan

Surging poultry production is driving Pakistan’s corn demand to record highs, slashing exports and reshaping the country’s grain market.

In the first quarter of 2025, Pakistan’s corn exports experience a drastic 87% drop owing to a mix of administrative hurdles and surging demand from the domestic feed manufacturers. Pakistan exported only 53,000 tonnes of corn in the first 3 months of the year, suspending deliveries to over a dozen countries, including China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and Romania, official data showed.

In 2024, Pakistan exported 419,000 tonnes of corn, which is 185% up compared with the previous year, largely thanks to a surge in exports to Vietnam.

The upward trend has reversed this year, with several contributing factors. In addition, exports may decline under the pressure of booming demand from the domestic feed industry, the USDA said in a recent report.

The ban on GMO soybean imports in October 2022 had a severe adverse impact on the poultry industry, leading to a significant reduction in the demand for corn. However, the government’s decision to allow the resumption of GMO soybean imports in late 2024 breathed new life into the poultry sector, sparking a renewed demand for corn, as estimated by analysts.

According to local farmers, domestic poultry production could surge by 25% due to the removal of the ban on GMO soybeans. And according to the USDA, the domestic 2025/26 consumption of corn, as a result, may reach 9.1 million tonnes, exceeding the 2024/2025 production estimated at 9 million tonnes.

Corn production is forecast at 9.6 million tonnes in 2025/26, based on a slight increase in area and assuming a 5-year average yield, the USDA predicted.

Traditionally, poultry feed accounts for about 65% of corn use. Corn is mixed with soybeans, so improving the availability of GMO soybeans naturally drives the demand for corn up. There are approx. 300 feed mills producing poultry feed, with 12 million tonnes output capacity, the USDA calculated.

Several Pakistani government’s poor political decisions have driven corn exports down, a local business newspaper reported, citing the industry insiders. Some problems are related to recent changes in the existing sanitary regulations, which have made it more difficult for exporters to meet the required standards and ship their products overseas.

To deal with the crisis, insiders believe provincial food authorities and agriculture departments must be involved in making production areas pest-free, monitoring pesticide residues, and ensuring proper post-harvest handling.

The Ministry of Commerce has raised concerns over the decline in corn exports and called the Department of Plant Protection and other government agencies to address the issue.

Tags: forecast, imports, demand, GMO soybeans, exports, corn, Pakistan, Poultry, Production