India corn futures up on export; barley hits highs

MUMBAI, May 16 (Reuters) - Indian corn futures ended higher on Friday on export demand, analysts said.

Surging prices of U.S. and South American corn and a lack of offers from China gave Indian corn exporters, who were never big players in the market, a window of opportunity to sell in Asian and Middle East markets.

India is likely to export about 2.1 million tonnes of corn by end of May, an industry official told Reuters in early April.

"There are some what lower arrivals from Bihar ...helping futures to rise," said Amand Rajalaxmi, an analyst with karvy Comtrade Ltd.

Bihar is a major producer of winter corn.

At close, the most-active June futures NMZM8 rose 3.27 percent to 819 rupees per 100 kg on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX).

BARLEY:

Indian barley June futures surged to hit contract highs on demand from malt-makers, analysts said.

Barley consumption is increasing for the last two years in India on the back of a rising beer output, and export demand from beverage makers in the Middle East, analysts said.