The export of soyameal during the first two months of the current fiscal declined by more than 80% mainly due to declining demand abroad and lesser arrival and crushing of soybean in the country.
According to the figure released on Friday by Indore-based trade body Soyabean Processors Association (SOPA), the exports during April-May fell to 1.73 lakh tonne from 8.56 lakh tonne achieved during same period last year.
The soyameal, a key ingredient in poultry feed, exports declined by more than 71% in May to 89,156 tonne, compared with the same month last year, as farmers held back stocks in anticipation that prices may rise in future with a surge in demand.
According to SOPA figure, the export of soyabean meal during current oil year (October 2008 to May 2009) was 2.75 million tonne as compared to 4.08 million tonne achieved during the same period last year also indicating a decline of more than 32%.
?The fall in exports of soyameal is mainly due to less arrival of soybean in the market and consequent lower crushing of soybean and dip in overseas demand,? Rajesh Agrawal, coordinator, SOPA said in a statement.
As per the government?s projection, soyabean output is estimated to fall at 9.05 million tonne during 2008-09 against 10.97 million tonne in the previous year.
India exports soyameal to countries like Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.
Soyameal is processed from soyabeans. Brazil and Argentina are the main competitors of India in the global market. India, Asia’s biggest supplier of soyameal, exported 5 million tonne of the animal feed last year.
Out of 9 million hectare of land under soyabean cultivation in the country, more than 4 million hectare are in Madhya Pradesh while 2.7 million hectare and 0.7 million hectare in Maharashtra and Rajasthan.