India?s soybean meal exports during June went up more than 270% from a year ago and expected to touch 4.8 million tonne during the current crop year.
This is mainly attributed to bumper production and rising global freight costs making imports from India cheaper over rival Latin American countries, Soybean Processors? Association of India (SOPA) said on Monday.
India, Asia?s biggest supplier of soymeal, exported 3.5 million tonne of the animal feed last year. Vietnam, South Korea, Japan and China are the leading buyers.
?Rising freight costs have helped us. It made sense for our traditional buyers to source more from us than South America?, Rajesh Agrawal, coordinator, SOPA, said.
The higher exports are attributed to strike by farmers in Argentina, which were also boosted by strong domestic output. Soy crushing in Argentina, the world?s top exporter of soyoil and soymeal, fell by 4% in May compared with the same month last year as the stoppage crippled agricultural activity.
Agrawal of SOPA said he was confident exports would set a new record in the crop year until September.
Overseas sales in June jumped fourfold to 2,41,000 tonne from 64,000 tonne in the same month a year ago.
In the first nine months of the crop year that began in October, they stood at 4.3 million tonne against 3.1 million tonne in the same period last year.
Soymeal sales began in October at $288 per tonne and some recent deals have been struck at $490 a tonne, reflecting a rapid jump in meal prices, Agrawal said.
He said India exported some soymeal to China at the beginning of the season, but sales have since slowed as rising prices trimmed demand.
According to estimates, India produced 10 million tonne of soybeans in 2007, up from 8.5 million tonne a year ago.
The country, which grows a number of oilseeds, produces only one soybean crop a year. It is sown in the monsoon months during June – July and harvested during September – October.