Yellow Maize Husk Export from India (2025): Full Guide to Specs, Packaging, Supply Chain, Top Markets & Profit Margins

Export Potential

Yellow maize husk might look like farm waste, but buyers overseas pay real money for it. Feed mills mix it into cattle rations, biomass plants press it into fuel pellets, and eco-packaging makers turn its fibre into cups and trays. The world market for these uses is growing by about ten per cent each year. India alone throws away more than five million tonnes of husk every harvest, so even selling a fraction abroad can open a brand-new revenue stream for small exporters.

Supply Chain

The journey is short and simple:

1. Farmers shell the corn and strip off the husk.
   
   

2. Collectors sweep it up and sell loose piles to local traders.
   
   

3. You dry it to below 13 % moisture, bale or bag it, and truck it to the nearest port.
   
   

4. A fumigation team treats the cargo, customs stamps the phyto certificate, and the container sails off.
   Because husk is light, the big costs are drying fuel, baling film and freight. Locking in trucks during harvest and using a shared baler with neighbours can shave your costs sharply.
   
   

   

Top Importing Countries

Right now the busiest buyers are:

• Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia for dairy and poultry feed.
  
  

• The United Arab Emirates, Oman and Kenya for mixed livestock rations.
  
  

• Germany and the Netherlands for biomass fuel and bio-packaging fibre.
  These markets prefer steady, year-round supply and clear paperwork over rock-bottom prices, giving organised MSMEs a fair shot against big grain giants.
  

  
  

Specs

Keep it basic and you will pass most inspections:

• Moisture not above 13 %.
  
  

• Dirt, stones and other trash under 1 %.
  
  

• Bright yellow colour with no mould smell.
  
  

• Baled blocks around 400–500 kg each, or 50-kg woven sacks if the buyer asks.
  
  

• Pallets or dunnage must carry the ISPM-15 heat-treatment mark if made of wood.
  
  

Stats

• India’s 2024/25 maize crop is forecast near 42 million tonnes.
  
  

• Husk makes up roughly 13 % of that weight — about 5.5 million tonnes.
  
  

• FOB offers from Indian ports in mid-2025 sit around US $75–80 per tonne.
  
  

• A 40-foot container fits 22–26 tonnes of baled husk and reaches Ho Chi Minh City in ten days.
  
  

Packaging, Government Support & Profit Margin

Packaging tips – Dry first, then bale tight with UV-resistant film, add two desiccant bags per container, and label every unit “For animal feed / industrial use only – Not for human food.”

Government support – Husk is classed as an agricultural residue, so it is freely exportable. You still need an IEC, a phytosanitary certificate and fumigation proof. APEDA’s Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme refunds part of the ocean freight on feed materials shipped to many destinations, trimming your landed cost.

Profit margin – A rough cost stack from a western-India mill looks like this:

• Husk ex-sheller ≈ ₹3.6 per kg
  
  

• Drying, baling, local truck ≈ ₹1.8 per kg
  
  

• Port handling, fumigation, documents ≈ ₹0.5 per kg
  
  

• Ocean freight to ASEAN ≈ ₹1.9 per kg
  
  

Total around ₹7.8 per kg (≈ US $94 per tonne). If you sell CIF at US $115 you clear about US $20 per tonne, and one full container can bring in over US $400–500 after costs. Scale that over regular monthly loads and a by-product turns into a healthy side-line export business.

Bottom line: yellow maize husk is low-tech, low-risk and sitting in plain sight. With basic drying gear, clean packaging and the right paperwork, Indian MSMEs can turn this “waste” into a steady export winner.