July 4, 2008
India's farmers in soy planting frenzy as prices breach records
A record price for soy in the global market is spurring farmers who traditionally plant pulses and coarse grains to switch to the oilseed, according to an industry spokesman.
Rajesh Agrawal, spokesman of the Soy Processors Association of India (Sopa) told the Hindu Business Line that soy prices are exceeding that of corn and other grains, drawing farmers to plant more of the crop.
India's is about halfway through its soy planting, with completion estimated at about 45 percent.
In Asian trade on Thursday (July 3, 2008), soy July contract was quoted at a record US$16.51 a bushel (US$750 a tonne). Soy prices have been on a tear since last week on worries concerning US weather.
India's soy production already grew 33 percent last year to a record 9.5 million tonnes from 71.5 million tonnes the previous year due to increased acreage and a good monsoon.
Currently, soy is quoted at Rs 26,700-27,000 a tonne, cooling off slightly from its record high of Rs 28,000 weeks ago.
Arrivals, however, are sparse since stocks with growers and traders are low.
While a significant number of growers have shifted from cotton to soy, sugarcane farmers are thought to be switching to soy as well, the newspaper reported.
Still, current soy acreage so far is lower than last year. The coverage, according to the Agriculture Minister, was 810,000 hectares versus nearly 1 million hectares during the corresponding period a year ago.
Meanwhile, India has so far exported more than 4 million tonnes of soymeal in this crop year starting
October 2007, with a record price at US$490 a tonne, mainly to China and South-East Asia. This was a 30-percent increase of the same period a year ago.
Nearly 8 million tonnes are likely to be exported before the oil year ends in October.
