Farmers cheer as maize prices also hit an all-time high attuned to the overheated global market amid war in the world's grain and-fuel hub.
On the flipside of the buoyancy, however, are animal feed mills and a vast sector in Bangladesh that feeds on the animal feeds and supply vital proteins, sources say.
The millers and their agents are now in a race to make contracts with farmers far ahead of the harvest amid rocketing prices of corns both in global and domestic markets, they add.
According to the Feed Association of Bangladesh (FIAB), this corn now retails at Tk 34-35 a kilogram on the domestic market, marking an all-time high.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), 0.48 million hectares of land came under maize farming this season while a suitable weather prospecting bumper 5.6 million tonnes of crops with handsome profits for the peasantry.
"Harvest will begin in full swing from the last week of April, but the maize on my four bighas of land has already been contracted at Tk 1200 (Tk 30 a kg) a maund with an agent of an animal-feed mill," says Md Jakaria, a farmer at Thakurganj under Dimla in far-flung Nilphamari district.
He says feed mills are now in a hard competition to capture corn before the reaping starts.
Rouf Molla, another farmer in Hatibandha in Lalmonirhat, spent above Tk 21,000 to cultivate maize on his three bighas of land. And he is happy with the prospect of good returns.
"I'm expecting minimum 75 maunds of corn worth Tk 95,000 this year," he says.
Md Benojir Alam, director-general of the DAE, says the corn has emerged as a handsomely profitable crop for farmers as production cost is comparatively low while returns are rewarding.
"Higher demand fuelled by feed-mill and food-processing companies helps producers get a good return, which encourages farmers across the country to switch to corn cultivation," he adds.
Dr Debangshu Bikash Bhowmik, managing director of Agata Feed Mills Ltd, says old corns are selling at Tk 34-35 a kg while their agents have been asked to get into contract with farmers much earlier as global prices hit above $350 a tonne (above Tk 31 a kg, FOB).
By his account, despite rising production in the country, some 4.3-4.5 million tonnes in total, local feed mills would need an additional 2.0-2.5 million tonnes from global sources following a demand for nearly 7.0 million tonnes.
"Local feed mills and also food-processing industries are targeting a buy at the maximum from the local sources following the rising price trend in the world," he says.
Last year, harvest season started with a price range of Tk 16-18 a kg which will be minimum Tk 30 a kg this April-June period, he forecasts.
