European demand lifts Indian soyameal exports in December
Soyameal exports are up a tad during December at 2.77 lakh tonnes (lt) on higher demand from European buyers such as Germany and Netherlands. However, the offtake by the domestic livestock feed sector was flat at 5.5 lt, as per the latest estimates by the trade body Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA).
Soyameal exports during December were up by over a per cent at 2.77 lt compared with 2.74 lt in the year-ago period. However, cumulative exports for the oil year 2024-25 starting October were down 21 per cent at 5.18 lt compared with 6.59 lt a year ago as India continues to be expensive in the world market. Exports declined during October and November.
Largest buyer
Germany was the largest buyer of Indian soyameal in December with purchases of 49,875 tonnes, followed by the Netherlands at 39,088 tonnes, Bangladesh at 32,002 tonnes and France at 28,542 tonnes. Neighbouring Nepal purchased over 27,724 tonnes during December, while Belgium bought over 17,800 tonnes. Offtake from Iran, a large buyer in the previous year, remained muted at around 500 tonnes during December.
Meanwhile, the market arrivals of soyabean have been estimated at 46 lt till December-end, down 11 per cent against 52 lt a year ago, as the bearish price trend continued in the domestic market tracking the global trend.
The crushing till end December was also lower by 14 per cent at 30.50 lt, down from previous year’s 35.50 lt. However, the direct use of soyabean was up marginally at 1.40 lt, up from 1.10 lt.
Stocks with the crushing units and traders are estimated to be lower at 89.82 lt, down from 93.46 lt in the same period a year ago.
Food, feed offtake down
As a result of the lower market arrivals, the production of soyameal dropped 14 per cent to 24.07 lt during the October-December period. It was 28.01 lt a year ago. The domestic consumption by the food sector is down marginally at 2.10 lt from 2.25 lt. Consumption for the feed is also lower at 17 lt down from 18.50 lt during the period.
Meanwhile, the prices of soyabean continued to rule below the MSP across key producing regions. The government has fixed an MSP of ₹4,892 per quintal, while the modal prices in the markets of Madhya Pradesh, the largest producing State, ranged between ₹3,500 and ₹4,400 per quintal on Monday.
Government agencies have procured over 8.84 lt of soyabean so far, with the bulk of the procurement of over 3.88 lt being made in Madhya Pradesh, followed by 3.10 lt in Maharashtra, 83,075 tonnes in Telangana, 51,026 tonnes in Rajasthan, 32,687 tonnes in Gujarat and 18,282 tonnes in Karnataka. The sanctioned quantity for public procurement by the government is 33.85 lt.