Oilmeal exports in May fall 78% due to US sanctions on Iran: SEA

NEW DELHI: Export of oilmeal, used as animal feed, plummeted 78 per cent to 58,549 tonnes during the last month, as shipments to Iran dropped sharply because of US sanctions, industry body SEA said Friday.

The country had exported 2,63,644 tonnes of oilmeal in May 2018.

India stopped importing crude oil from Iran from May 2 after the US sanction waiver expired and the Trump administration refused to extend it.


"Iran is a major export market for India as far as oilmeal is concerned. Because of the US sanction, our export volume has been affected badly. This trend will continue in the coming months," Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) of India Executive Director B V Mehta told PTI.

India was able to export only 17,385 tonnes of soyabean extract to Iran during last month, the SEA data showed.

The industry body, however, is trying other markets especially China to reopen for Indian oilmeal, Mehta said.

According to the SEA's latest data, soybean meal export declined to 18,470 tonnes in May 2019 from 76,026 tonnes in the year-ago period.

Similarly, rapeseed meal shipment dropped to 19,519 tonnes from 1,33,916 tonnes, while that of rice bran extraction fell to 4,200 tonnes from 45,382 tonnes in the said period.

However, the export of castorseed meal increased to 16,360 tonnes in May this year from 8,172 tonnes in the same month last year, the data showed.

Total oilmeal exports during April-May declined 36 per cent to 3,13,134 tonnes from 4,87,995 tonnes in the same period year-ago.

Vietnam, South Korea, France, Bangladesh, Thailand and Germany are other major export destinations.