India’s soymeal exports may hit decade low

KOLKATA: The nation’s soymeal exports are expected to fall to a decade low in the current financial year, as higher local prices have rendered Indian supplies uncompetitive in the international market.

Exports may remain below 2 million tonnes in the year through March 2015, compared with around 2.8 million tonnes in 2013-14, said Raju Choksi, vice president of agriculture commodities at Anil Nutrients.BV Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors Association, said soymeal exports would definitely be lower this year, but his estimate is higher than that of Choksi. “According to our estimate, it will be around 2.5 million tonnes,” he said.

“Higher soybean seed prices have made Indian soymeal uncompetitive in the world market. This year the global supply is on the higher side and there is ample supply of soybean and soymeal in the world market,”said. Soymeal, the residue left after extracting oil from soybean, is widely used in animal feed. It has a major share in India’s total oilmeal exports, but for the past couple of years, that has declined. Soymeal exports fell 19% in 2013-14, quicker than the previous year’s 10% drop.