"The new season arrivals have started in several markets and will pick up in the next few weeks," a leading trader said in Indore.

The city, based in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is the hub of the country's soyabean processing trade.

Local trading for soyabean was done at a price ranging between Rs 8,100-8,800 per tonne, traders said.

"Due to favourable weather, we are hopeful of better quality soyabean this year," a trader said.

"Buyers will also gain confidence in our soyameal when they get the shipment," he added.

Many Asian buyers had rejected Indian soyameal exports last year due to quality problems that followed unseasonal rains in major crop growing areas in central India.

At present, soyabean was quoted at Rs 9,400-9,750 a tonne, unchanged from last week's levels, traders said.

Soyabean arrivals were expected to gradually rise in the next few weeks, hitting a peak in mid-October, traders said.

The increased arrivals are likely to put pressure on prices.

The soyabean Processors Association of India has estimated the country's 1998/99 (November-October) crop to reach a record six million tonnes, up from 5.4 million tonnes the previous year.

The crop is listed as November-October, but the soyabean harvest is over early in the year, allowing figures to be released earlier.