Soyameal exports may rise to 17 lakh tonnes this oil season

Soyameal exports have risen 174 per cent to 13.78 lakh tonnes (lt) during the October-April period of the current oil year to September compared with 5.03 lt in the year-ago period.

Higher demand from consuming countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh among others resulted in rise in shipments during the period.

Offtake from the domestic feed sector was up at around 12 per cent at 38 lt during the period against 34 lt a year ago. However, the food sector demand was higher at around 24 per cent at 5.75 lt (4.65 lt) during the period.

Crushing projections

Crushing activity during the period gained momentum with the production of the meal rising by around 47 per cent to 57.43 lt (39.11 lt). The market arrivals of soyabean also improved to 84 lt (66 lakh tonnes), despite a bearish trend in the edible oils segment.

‘Looking to the processing and exports, we have revised upwards the soybean crushing projections for oil year to 105 lt from 100 lt. Similarly, the estimated export of soybean meal through sea and land routes has also been revised upwards to 17 lt from earlier 14 lt,’ said D N Pathak, Executive Director, Soyabean Oil Processors Association of India (SOPA), the apex trade body.

The upward revision in the projected exports follows the mid-term review of the estimates of soybean production for kharif 2022 which has placed the crop estimates higher at 124.1 lt from the earlier 120.3 lt.

SOPA estimated total import of soybean higher at 5 lt from its earlier projections of 2 lt. Further, SOPA estimates the stocks with the plants and traders at 64.88 lt at the beginning of May.

Vietnam has been the largest buyer of Indian soyameal at over 4.93 lt, followed by Bangladesh at over 2.17 lt. Vietnam accounted for about 36 per cent of the total Indian soyameal exports, so far.

Other major buyers of the Indian meal included Nepal at 89,528 tonnes, Thailand at 67,778 tonnes, Sri Lanka at 51,068 tonnes and the US at 47,678 tonnes.

This article has been republished from The Hindu Business Line