The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) is planning to send a trade delegation to Taiwan, South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand in the first half of May 2008 to renew contact with feed millers and importers of feed ingredient and to expand Indian export market for oilmeals. Markets for Indian oilmeals will be explored in Cambodia.
In 2007-08 till February, this year, Vietnam increased the import of oilmeals from India to 1,436,448 tonne consisting of 1,235,825 tonne soybean meal, 67,848 tonne rapeseed meal and entire quantity of 132,000 tonne ricebran extraction from India. South Korea imported 841,575 tonne from India consisting of 385,925 tonne rapeseed meal, 240,625 tonne soybean meal and 210,125 tonne castorseed meal. Japan imported 608,175 tons mainly of 597,475 tonne soybean meal and 10,700 tonne rapeseed meal. China reduced the import from India due to better local crushing and imported 109,825 tonne rapeseed meal, 132,325 tonne of soybean meal and 44,150 tonne groundnut meal.
In April 2007, FOB realization for soybean meal was $ 269 per tonne which shot up to 417 per tonne in February 2008, similarly rapeseed meal realization jumped to nearly double and reached at $ 220 a tonne, while groundnut meal FOB price increased to $ 317 a tonne and castor meal jumped to $ 125 a tonne from $ 70 a tonne in one year. Better FOB realization has given good support to domestic processing industry and nullified the impact of rupee depreciation.
The overall export of oilmeals for the period April 2007 to February 2008 is reported at 4,557,627 tonne compared to 4,415,250 tonne in the like period in the previous fiscal year. In the first half of the year, due to lower crop during 2006-07, the export declined, however with record soybean crop of 9.4 million tonne in 2007-08 coupled with record price realization in international market pushed up the export of oilmeals in second half of 2007-08.
The export of oilmeals in February 2008 was 759,275 tonne compared to 592,775 tons in February 2007, up by 28% due to increased in export of soybean, rapeseed, castor meal and groundnut meal.