Journal of Scientitic & Industrial Research

Vol.58, June 1999, pp 403-413

Starch: Perspectives and Opportunities

Fausto F Dias
B2, G3 Navelkar Estates, Bainguim, Old Goa, Goa 403 402

Starch is commercially mainly produced from maize, wheat, tapioca, and potato. Most of the starch produced in India is from
maize and tapioca. The manufacturing processes are described as well as the properties of the starches produced from different raw
materials. Starches (native and modified) are used in the manufacture of a variety of products. The demand for starches is expected
to grow in India, and the Indi an starch industry will have to improve its efficiencies and produce quality products if it is to meet thi s
demand. At present the per capita consumption of starch is one of the lowest in the world.

Introduction

Starch is a polysaccharide made up of glucose units wherein the glucose units are linked via 1-4 linkages,
and is the reserve carbohydrate of the plant kingdom. called amylose, and a branched polymer, in which the
Starch granules are deposited in the seeds, tubers, roots, linear molecule has branches attached to it via 1-6 link-
and stem pith of plants, as a reserve food supply for peri- ages, called amylopectin. (Figure I). The proportion of
ods of dormancy, germination, and growth. Starch oc- amylose and amylopectin varies with different starches,
curs as tiny granules ranging in size from I to 100 mi-
crons, the size and shape of the granules being plant spe- Table I - Worldwide production of starches from
cies specific. Next to cellulose, also a glucose polymer, various sources (1995)
starch is the most abundant natural polysaccharide.
Commercially, starch is derived from cereal grains Raw materi al Quantity
x 1000 MT %
such as wheat and maize, or from tubers such as potato,
tapioca and arrowroot, or the pith of the sago plant. By
Maize 27.380 74
far the largest quantity of starch is produced from maize,
Waxy mai ze 370 I
wheat, potato and tapioca. The world wide production of
Wheat 2.960 8
starches from these raw materials is given in Table I .
Tapioca 3,700 10
The starches from different sources have different prop-
Potato 2,590 7
erties which affect their functionalities, and hence, their
Total 37,000 100
end-use. Starches are normally referenced with respect
to their source: maize starc h, tapioca starch, etc. (Note
that maize starch is also referred to as corn starch, as Table 2 - Production of starch in various geographic
maize is called corn in the U.S .A., the largest producer areas (1995)
of maize and maize derived starc h products) . The vol-
ume of starch production in various continents is indi- Quantity,
x 1000 MT %
cated in Table 2.
In India, only maize and tapioca starches are produced
Americas 18870 51
in significant quantities.
Asia 9620 26
Europe 7400 20
Starch Properties
Africa 740 2
Though all starches are condensation polymers of glu-
Au stralia/Oceania 370 I
cose, they are not an uniform material. Most starches
Total 37000 100
contain two types of glucose polymers: a linear molecule,
404 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

o +---(J,6Iinkage)
I
CH20H CH2 CH20H ..

0-<=>-00-0-0
. i (1,4 linkage)
1,6 linkages of AMYLOPECTIN

Linear structure of AMYLOSE

Fig. 1 - Structure o f amylose and amylopectin

and influences the properties of the starch and its func- swell to many times their normal size. When heating is
tional properties. continued, the swollen granules begin to disintegrate. The
Starch granules are insoluble in water at ambient tem- viscous mass results from the swelling and colloidal mass
perature. However, when a water suspension of starch is of starch in water is re ferred to as starch paste. True solu-
heated beyond a critical temperature, the gelatinisation bilisation occurs when pastes are cooked at temperatures
or pasting temperature, the granules absorb water and of IOO"C to J60"C. When a cooked paste is allowed to

FF Dias, after training as a biotechnologist at the I.I.Sc., Bangalore

and at Cornell and Rutgers University, started his career developi ng
processes to manufacture various microbial enzymes. Subsequently, he
has been involved in every facet of the wet-milling industry. Besides his
invol ment in the man ufacture of starches, dextrose, glucose syrup, and
other products of the wet milling industry, he has been associated with
the developmel1l of various modifi ed starches and other starch rel ated
products. More recently, hi s interests have centered around developing
various food products specially those in which the function aliti es of
products of the wet-milling industry are used to advantage. He has heen
actively associated in the control of en vironmental pollution by the starc h
industry. Dr. Dias has visi ted many wet-milling facilities, both in No rth
and Latin America.
 DIAS : STARCH 405

Table 3 - Properties of some commercially available starches.

Maize Waxy maize Wheat starch Tapioca Potato
. starch starch starch starch
Granule Properties
. Granule shape Round, Round, Round, Truncated, Oval,
polygonal polygonal lenticular round spherical
Diameter range, Jl 5-25 5-25 2-45 4-35 15-100
Specific area, m 2/kg 300 300 500 200 110
Density 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
Granules/g, x million 1300 1300 2600 500 100
Composition, % ds
Lipids 0.8 0.8 0.9 0.1 0.1
Protein 0.35 0.35 0.4 0.1 0.1
Ash 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.08
Phosphorus 0.02 0.D2 0.06 0.01 0.08
Amylose 28 I 28 17 24
Amylopectin 72 99 72 83 76
Gelatinisation characteristics
A verage peak viscosity 600 800 300 1000 3000
(Brabender Units), 5%
paste
Paste viscosity Medium High Low High High
Pasting temperature, 75-80 65-70 65-70 60-65 60-65
°c
Paste texture Short, Long, Short, heavy, Long, Long,
heavy body stringy, fluid body stringy, fluid stringy,
body body fluid body
Paste clarity Opaque Translucent Opaque Translucent Translucent
Retrogradation High Very low High Low Medium
Starch Film
Clarity and gloss low high low High high
Film strength low high low High high
Flexibility low high low High high
Film solubility low high low High high

stand, retrogradation (set-back) takes place due to a

Maize (corn) Starch:
reassociation of amylose molecules, leading to a gel or
precipitate. Amylopectin molecules do not retrograde as The commercial production of maize starch
the branches prevent close re-association needed for hy- started in 1884 when a small plant was built in Jersey
City, N.J. , U.S.A. and in Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. In 1888,
drogen bonding.
The gelatinization temperature of starches is species a larger plant was built in Oswego, N.Y., U.S.A . Since
specific, and is generally in the range of 55"C and 80"e. then the technology for the manufacture of starch from
High amylose maize starch may need cooking at tem- maize has steadily improved and maize represents the
peratures above I OO"C for complete pasting. The physi- dominant raw material for starch manufacture. Most of
cal properties of the pastes are also different for different the development took place in the U.S .A, which is the
starches. largest producer of maize world-wide . The manufacture
The properties of some common commercially avail- of starch from maize by wet milling is schematically in-
able starches are indicated in Table 3. dicated in Figure 2. The figure also indicates the produc-
tion of nutritive sweeteners and dextrin as many wet mill-
History and Manufacturing Processes ers also have these in their operations. The basic princi-
The starch manufacturing process differs with the raw ple of starch manufacture from maize is the separation of
the various maize constituents of the maize due to differ-
materials.
 406 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

SHELLED MAJIZE

.~ "
MAIZE CLEANERS

~
STEEP TANKS GERM GRINDING ---->0.. SCREENS---",,- CENTRIFUGAL
~EPARATOR~.,;:
SI MILLS.>
- - - " ' - - - - - ; 1 ' " SEPARATORS

HYDROCLONE 1 1 1 STARCH
WASHING
STEEP WATER GERMS -?OIL FIBRE GLUTEN
~
1
OIL CAKE
_________________ STARCH
r SLURRY

RE}INERY
STARCH DRIERS MODIFICATION

r TANKS

I
ROASTERS

DEXTRINS
I l
UNMODIFIED
STARCH
DRIERS

MODIFIED
STARCH
I

NUTRITIVE
I SWEETENERS

Fig 2: Manufacture of maize starch

ences in density. The slUccess of the wet milling process from other sections of the process, in which sulphur di-
depends on the efficient recovery of all ingredients. The oxide is dissolved, is normally used) in a countercurrent
sale of co-products contributes to the economic viability battery at SOlie. Because of the presence of sulphur di-
of the process. In fact, the wet milling industry normally oxide, as well as temperature, a lactic fermentation takes
costs its products on the basis of net cost of maize, namely, place. Steeping is a very important step in the starch manu-
the cost after deducting the realisation for co-products . facturing process as it toughens the germ, and breaks
At present, the unit value of some co-products is higher down the protein starch matrix, thu s permitting the effi-
than that of starch. Additionally, it is important to have cient separation of the constituents of the maize kernel.
an efficient recovery of the co-products, specially the Watson 2 describes the chemistry associated with the steep-
soluble fraction, to avoid adding to the cost of treating
Table 4 - Recoveries of various products during the wet
the effluent. Tekchandani et af. I have reviewed the prop-
milling of maize
erties and uses of the co-products . One product not con- Per cent of clean corn. dry basis
sidered by them is corn oil which is recovered from the Starch 67.5
germ. Corn oil, generally regarded as a "healthy" oil, Corn Extractives 6.5
Fibre 12.5
commands a premium price over other edible oils.
Germ 7.3
The wet-milling operation starts with the softening of Gluten Meal 5.4
the grain by steeping in sulphur dioxide solution (water
 DlAS: STARCH 407

VITAL GLUTEN
SEPARATOR

WHEAT, CLEANED
, ....;G:..:,-=D-=R..:..:Y:....:I:.:...N-=G:....-~Vital
I -_ _ _D_E_W_A_T_E....;RIN.:.= , Gluten

!
DRY MILLING ~ Bran '-----~
J Solubles
EVAPORATION
IDRYING _

1
hr------?oI'""'eed

I "I
STRIPPING
I
L-...f---~

Flour ---')[){)UGHIBA TrER

i
Water
MAKING
STARCH SLURRY

'f '¥
STARCH A STARCHB

Fig. 3 : Wheat Starch Manufacture

TIJBER (POTATO or TAPIOCA)

WASHING ~ RASPING ~ ROTATING SElVES T HYDROCLONES I

FIBRE ( SOLUBLES!

1
DRIER
DRYING

STARCH
~
FlED
Fig. 4 : Manufacture of tuber starches

ing process. The softened grain is then ground, coarsely, pins at high speed or counter-rotating disc mills to free
in mill s having one stationary and one rotating disk. The the starch with minimum damage to the fibre. The fibre
separated germs are collected in flotation cell s, or, more is recovered on a series of sc reens from which the ad-
commonly today, in hydroclones. The ground maize from hering starch and gluten is washed off and then dewatered
which some of the germs have been separated is ground in screw presses . After the germs and fibre have been
through a second grind mill to release germs not re leased removed, the starch and gluten are separated in a disc-
in the first pass. The released germs are collected as be- nozzle type of centrifuge. Advantage is taken of the den-
fore. After germ separation , the maize slurry is passed sity difference, 1.06 for gluten versus 1.6 for starch . The
through Entoleter mills which sling the material against gluten is dewatered on rotary vac uum filters and then
 408 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

Table 5 - Some physical and chemical modifications of starch practiced commercially.

Type of modi tic at ion Main objective Treatment
Pregelatinised starch Cold water dispersibility Drum drying, extrusion
Low viscosity :,tarches Low viscosity, High gel tendency Acid hydrolysis in suspension
Dextrins Low viscosity, high solubility, Dry roasting
improved tack, etc
Oxidised starch Improved viscosity stability, low Hypochlorite oxidation
viscosity
Cross linked starch Shear, temperature, and pH Epichlohydrin, phosphorus
stability of pastes; Improved oxychloride, adiphic acid
texture and mouthfeel anhydride
Esterification Improved viscosity stability Sodium orthophosphate,
phosphorus oxychloride, vinyl
acetate, octenyl succinic
anhydride
Etherification . Improved stability, lower Ethylene oxide, propylene oxide,
gdatinisation temperature; Films sodium monochloroecetate. For
have improved properties; cationic starch: Tertiary amino-
Change ionic charge (make starch alkyl derivatives
cationic) (Dimethylaminoethyl chloride
hydrochloride) or quaternary
derivatives (3-chloro-2-
hydroxypropyl
trimethylammonium chloride)
Combinations Combination of objectives Combination oftreatrnents
Hydrolysis to maltodextrin and Bulking agents, nutritive Acid and/or enzymes
starch sugars . sweeteners, instant energy

dried to give gluten meal with a protein concentration of Wheat Starch

greater than 60 per cent. The starch stream from the cen- Starch produced from wheat is a co-product of the
trifugal separator still contains considerable quantities manufacture of vital gluten, the protein of wheat which
of protein and these are removed by washing in a coun- gives wheat dough its characteristic properties. Wheat
tercurrent fashion in a series of hydroclones. In the wet- emerged as a significant source of starch in Europe due
milling of maize the only entry point for fresh water is at to changed agriculture market regulations in the seven-
the last stage of the starch washing system. The water ties. Tariffs made imported maize and " hard" wheat (17
from one operation is used in another. Efficient water per cent gluten) expensive. To make European "soft"
use is an important fac ior in a successful wet-milling wheat (9-10 per cent gluten) suitable for baking purposes
operation. Efficient operation results in over 99.5 per cent it had to be fortified with vital gluten, The demand for
of the dry matter being recovered. The recoveries of starch vital gluten was the driver for increased availability of
and co-products are indicated in Table 4. Indian wet mill- wheat starch. The industry grew 900 per cent between
ing operations do not achieve these recove ry values at 1980 and 1993, from 0.3 million MT to 3 million MT.
present, but there is a growing awareness that if they are Europe is the largest producer of vital gluten . Of the 440
to grow the market for maize starch they will need to thousand MT of wheat gluten produced world-wide in
reduce costs by improving efficiencies. The manufacture 1997, about 50 per cent was produced in Europe, France,
of waxy starch from waxy maize is done in the same Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom be-
manufacturing facility used for milling regular maize. ing the main producers. The U.S .A. produced about 45
Waxy maize is more difficult to mill, and the recoveries thousand MT and Australia 55 thousand MT. The net
are lower than those obtained with regular maize. No cost of wheat has averaged 80 per cent of the maize net
Indian wet miller grinds waxy maize. cost in Europe. Wheat is technically more difficult to
The most comprehensive description of the produc- process . Cost effective technologies emerged in the late
tion of starch from maize is given by Blanchard'. seventies with the development of the Rasio process in
 DlAS : STARCH 409

STARCH SLURRY
I TO MODIFIA TION
FLASH DRIED
& REFINIRlES
I
I
UNMODIFIED
I
DRY MODIFIED
t: Roasted (dextrins)
Extruded
(non-Gelatinised)
I
Glucose syrup,
Dextrose, HFCS

Additives No additives

HYDROXY HYDROXY ACETYLATED

ACID BLEACHED
THINNED OXIDISED ETHYLATED PROPYl-ATED

CROSSLINKEO OCTENYL CATIOMSED

1
PRE-GELA TINISED
FLASH DRIED
Fig. 5 : Manufac ture of modified starches

Finland. Subsequently other technologies have been de- value product which is used in the production of carbon less
veloped, and the major maize starch manufacturers in paper.
Europe (Roquette, Cerestar, Amylum) have set up large
wheat processing facilities. Figure 3 is an illustration of Tuber Starches-Tapioca and Potato
the process to manufacture wheat starch. In contrast to Potato starch is mainly produced in Europe especially
the manufacture of starch from maize, wheat is first in The Netherlands and in Germany. About 25 per cent of
dry milled to a flour. The dry milling process, as well as the starch produced in Europe is derived from potatoes .
the quality of the wheat, have an important bearing on Other than fructose syrup, potato starch manufacture is
the "vitality" of the gluten recovered. Thereafter, the regulated by a subsidy system. Regulations offer subsi-
wheat flour is either made into a dough or batter with dies to about 1.7 million MT of potato starch spread over
water. The starch is then separated from the gluten. The several European countries. Special grades of potato are
starch fraction also contains fibres, pentosans and bran . grown for starch manufacture; these are not mark eted for
The gluten contains about 75-85 per cent protein (N x tabl e use. It may be mentioned that maize gives three times
5.70, not 6.25 as for maize gluten). The starch fraction as much starch per unit of raw material as does potato. In
is refined through centrifugal separators to give two the United States small quantities of potato starch are pro-
starch fraction s, A- and B- starch. A-starch (60-65 per duced using potato wastes (peels, etc.) from the food in-
cent) is made up of starch particles of size 15-50 mi- dustry as the raw material. The food industry is finding
crons, while B-starch has a particle size of2-15 micron s. uses for these wastes, and hence its availability as a raw
The B-starch is about 15-20 per cent of the starch re- material is becoming scarce.
covered and is of low purity (protein between I and 2 Tapioca starch is mainly produced in South East Asia,
per cent). It is sometimes used to prepare glucose syrup Brazil and India. In India, 50,000 MT of the 150,000 MT
but as these are difficult to refine to an acceptable leve l, of the tapioca starch produced is conveltecl to "sago" pearls
the fraction is normally added to feed. The very sma ll (sabudanna) 4. Under the Industrial Deve lopment Regu-
granules are sometimes further purified to yield a high lation Act (lOR) (India), 1951 , tapioca sago and tapioca
 410 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

Table 6 - Products in the manufacture of which starch is used

CORN STARCH CORN STARCH DEXTRINS

( Industrial Uses) (Food, Drug or Cosmetic Uses)
Abrasive paper and cloth Antiboitics Adhesives (glues, pastes,
Adhesives (glues, mucilages, gums etc.) Aspirin mucilages, gums)
Batteries, dJ;1cell Baby foods Bookbinding
Binder or binding agents Bakery products (bread, rolls, Briquettes
Board (corrugating, laminating, solid cakes, pies, crackers and cookies) Candles
fiberboard, cardboard) Baking powder Ceramics
Boiler compounds Beverages, brewed (beer, ale) Cord polishing
Bookbinding Chewing gum Core binder (castings, molds,
Briquettes Chocolate drink etc.)
Ceramics (as clay binder) Confectionery Cork products
Chemicals Cosmetics Crayon and chalk (as a binder)
Cleaners, detergenets Desserts (puddings, custards) Dyes (dry, cake, etc.)
Coatings on wood, metal and paper Drugs and pharmaceuticals Envelopes
Colour carrier ( in paper and textile Flours, prepared (including Fireworks
printing) prepared mixes) Inks, printing .
Cord polishing, sizing Food and drug coatings Insecticides
Cork Products Gravies and sauces Insulation, fiberglass
Crayon and chalk (as a binder) Meat products Lables
Dispersing and standardizing agent Mixes, prepared (pancake, waffle, Leather
Dressing, surgical cake, candy, etc.) Linoleum
Dyes (as a bodying agent, carrier Mustard, prepared Magazines
diluent, etc Pie fillings Matches (on head and side of
Fermentation processes Precooked frozen meals box)
Fiberglass size Salad dressing Oil-well drilling
Fireworks Soaps and cleaners Ore seperation
Insecticide powders Soups Paints (cold-water, poster, etc.)
Insulating material (glass, wool, rock Sugar, powdered Paper and paper products
wool, etc.) Vegetables, canned Plastics (moulding)
Lubricating agents Plywood
Oilcloth Sandpaper
Oil-well drilling (drilling mud) Shoes (counter pastes, polish,
Ore refining (electrolytic reduction etc.)
Process, flotation process, etc.) Silvering compounds
Paints (cleaning compounds, cold- Soaps
water and latex paints, poster, Straws (drinking)
lacquers, etc.) Textiles, sizing, finishing and
Paper and paper products manufacture printing
Plastics (moulded) Twine (cord, string, etc.)
Plywood (interior) Wa llboard and wallpaper
Printing Window shades and shade cloth
Protective colloids (emulsions)
iexti\es (warp sizing and fll1ish·ll1g)
Tile, ceiling
Tires, rubber
Wallboard and wallpaper
Water recovery, industrial

From:The World orCom, 1997. The National Corn Growers Association, St. Louis, MO.

flour, but not tapioca starch, are reserved fo r exclusive

principle, the same except that the practices followed
manufacture in the small scale sector.
are not mechanised resulting in an inferior grade of starch .
Though there are some differences in the details, the
Considering that tapioca starch and some of its deriva-
manufacturing processes of potato and tapioca starch are
tives command a price premium in the U.S .A. and Eu-
essentially similar. This statement applies to the mechani-
rope it would be useful if the manufacturing processes
cal process used but not to the manual process employed
are upgraded to yield a globally acceptable product. Fig-
by most tapioca starch producers in Salem Di strict of
ure 4 shows a schematic diagram for producing tuber
Tamil Nadu, where most of th e tapioca starch is manu-
starches.
factured in India. The process used by these units is, in
 DIAS : STARCH 411

Table 7 - Starch use, %, by end-use sector (1995)

Use sector U~ S . A. European Union India
Ethanol 42 3 0
Fructose syrup 31 4 0
Other starch sweeteners 12 40 45
Food use 4 12 19
Non-food use 11 41 36
Total starch production: U.S.A.: 22.95 million MT. cU: 0.75 million MT. India: 0.55
million MT

have been the main drivers for the rapid growth of the
Table 8 - Per capita starch consumption (kg) maize wet milling industry in North America. There is a
U.S.A. 64 move to use starch or starch hydrolysates as the raw ma-
Canada 52 terial for the microbiological production of various chemi-
European Union 18 cals 6 .7 . Large quantities of starch are converted to lactic
Japan 15 acid to be used as the starting material for the manufac-
Mexico 14
ture of plastics. Erythritol is an other example.
South Africa 8
Thialand 3 Details of the application of starch and modified starch
Pakistan 2 have been described by Dias" Dias, Tekchandani and
India 0.6 Mehta K and Wurzburg Y • By far the largest consumer of
Wo!ld Average 6.5 dried starch in the United States and in Europe is the
paper industry. In India, the largest consumer is the tex-
tile industry. The paper industry uses starches at the wet
end before the paper sheet is formed , for sizing where
the starch is applied to the web (the wet paper sheet) and
finally for coating the paper. Starch use for sizing is by
Modified Starches far the largest application consuming about double the
Starches from any plant source can be modified either quantity used in the other two applications. Different types
by physical or chemical methods. Figure 5 is a sche- of starch are used for each application. In 1996, the U.S.
matic diagram of the modified starch manufacturing proc- paper industry consumed 1.2 million MT of various types
ess. The commercially practised modifications have been of starches 10. Besides its use in the manufacture of paper,
reviewed by Dias' and are given in Table 5. Modified large quantities of starch are used in the manufacture of
starches prepared from starches derived from different corrugated board . A second large user of starch is the
sources may have different properties . In certain appli- textile industry. The larger of the applications is in warp
cations modification of a particular starch makes it suit- sizing of cotton and cotton blended fabrics where the warp
able for a particular use. For example, the texture of waxy yarn is strengthened by impregnating it with starch mixed
starch pastes is not acceptable for food use unless the with other chemicals so as to enable it to withstand the
same is modified by cross linking. weaving process. Starches are also used in the fini shing
of fabrics, specially inferior products, to add weight and
Applications to improve the handl e of the fabric. The latter is an im-
Starches and modified starches are used in a variety portant application in India, where a significant amount
of industries (Table 6). Even in a single industry, starch of coarse grades of cotton fabrics are produced. Starches
may be used in more than one application. A very large are also used in the stiffening of garments. A consider-
part of the starch produced is converted to nutritive sweet- able amount of starch goes into the manufacture of adhe-
eners such as glucose syrup, dextrose, and high fructose sives and glues. The food industry is a major user of starch
syrup (Table 7). Considerable quantities have also been where it is used as a thickener and bodying and bulking
used in the United States as a raw material for the manu- agent. In a few instances it may be the main contributor
facture of fuel ethanol. High fructose sy rup and ethanol to the nutrition of the product. Usually, it is used as it
 412 J SCI IND RES VOL. 58 JUNE 1999

imparts various functional properties to the food. In the starch, both for paper and board, is expected to be about
Indian context, an important use of tapioca starch is the 100,000 MT per annum early in the nex t century from
manufacture of "sago" pearls (saudana ). About 50,000 the existing level of about 18,000 M T per annum . The
MT of sabudana are produced annuall y4. Table 5 is a food industry will also require additional quantiti es of
list of products where starch is used or can be used. This starch and starch products . The CII-McKinsey report,
list excludes products where starch derivatives such as FAIDN 2, states that the industry is ex pected to double
glucose syrup and sorbitol are used . Very large quanti - the production within a decade, with va lue added prod-
ties of glucose syrup are used in confectionery, while ucts increasing threefo ld . For example, the confection-
sorbitol is used in tooth paste, cosmetics and in several ery industry is expected to grow at Iea ~ t 5 times by the
other applications II. Brewing is another area which takes year 2005. This would mean that th e requirement for glu-
large volumes of a specialised starch derived high mal- cose syrup will grow to about 350,000 MT, from the ex-
tose syrup. This application has been the driver fo r the isting level of 70.000 MT per annum . The demand for
rapid growth of the starch industry in Brasil and South processed food s will increase the demand for starches,
Afri ca, for example. It is evident that starch and starch both native and modified. Though the ir growth is re-
deri ved products are used in the manufacture of a very strained by the lack of clarity regarding their use in the
wide range of products . There are substitutes for starch , Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (P f'"A), Indi a, there
but starch is the most cost effective. has been an increase in the import of suc h starches, and
the starch industry will have to ac t expeditiously to pre-
Opportunities vent imported products from gaining a foothold.
The per capita consumption of starch in India is low
even when compared to consumption in Paki stan (Table The above are a few examples indicating the potenti al
8) . The comparison with Paki stan is meaningful as the for increased use of starch . If the Indi an starch industry
cultures and food habits in the two countries are not di s- is to benefit from thi s increased demand it will have to
similar. The world average growth rate is repo rted to be increase effici encies, so that starches are available at a
12 per cent. The growth rate in Indi a has been less than low cost and comparable in quality to the best in the world .
5 per cent. However, with changes in the economy there The starch industry should take advantage of the fact th at
should be a spurt in the demand for starches both in in- tapioca is available ,in India, and produce value added
du stri al applications and in the food sector. products for expo rt s. Tapioca sta rch and products pre-
pared from it command a premium in ternationall y, if the
quality meets internat ional standards. The Indian starch
One of the major opportunities for in creased use of industry will have to convince the fanner to cultivate hi gh
starch is in the paper industry and in the corrugated board yielding hybrid s with improved millability so as so as to
industry. The consumption of paper and board in India is improve effici encies. The starch indu stry should make it
one of the lo west in the world, the per capita consump- profitable for the Indi an farmer to grow wax y mai ze so
tion being about 3.3 kg. This is lower than the 19 kg av- that this type of starch is also available to industry. Alter-
erage consumption in Asian countries, and the world av- natively, the industry should deve lop tapioca based
erage of 45 kg. The demand in Indi a is ex pected to grow, starches which could compete again st waxy starches. It
driven by the general economic and social de velopment is well to remember that waxy starch was developed as a
such as increased purchasing power, urbani sation and consequence of the non-avail ability of tapioca starch in
consumeri sm, increased literacy and development of the the U.S.A. due to the hostilities in the early forti es. The
educational sector. A conservative estimate is that by the industry would have to analyse the benefits as to which
year 20 10 the demand for paper and board wi II have in- raw material is the more economical
creased from the present 3.5 milli on MT per annum to .The Indi an starch industry will have to be proactive
9.7 million MT. Bes ides the increased demand for paper, in convincing customers about the ad vantage of usin g
there will be a shift to better grades of paper. This, to- starches and products derived from starch. Customers wi ll
gether with the increased use of inferior types of pulp have to be convinced that purchasing a high priced starch
and pulp derived from recycl ed paper, will need the in- could reduce their manufacturing cost , or produce a prod-
creased use of starch to produce quality paper. Based on uct with superior properties which could fetch a better
starch use patterns in the United States, the demand for price.
 DIAS : STARCH 413

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