September 17, 2010

Vietnamese and Thai feedmills seek soymeal trade

Feed mills in Vietnam and Thailand are in talks to book soymeal cargoes for October-November shipment and most business is likely to go to India on competitive prices being offered by bean processors from the country.

Feed makers in Vietnam are looking to purchase 100,000 tonnes of soymeal for shipment in October and another 150,000 tonnes in November, traders said on Thursday (Sep 16).

Millers in neighbouring Thailand were in talks to buy up to 70,000 tonnes of soymeal for October shipment, and looking to tie up another 100,000 tonnes for November, they added.

However, competitive Indian suppliers would probably snare the deals, another trader said.

Traders said Indian soymeal was being offered at around US$400 to US$410 a tonne, including cost and freight, to Southeast Asia, compared with South American cargoes being quoted around US$440 a tonne.

Meanwhile, India's soymeal sales are likely to double to around 300,000 tonnes in September from a month ago as buyers snap up cargoes from the South Asian nation, offering competition to suppliers of US and South American meal.

Asia's top soymeal supplier, India is likely to produce a bumper crop of around 9.5 million tonnes this year, up nearly 12% from 8.5 million tonnes in 2009 on ample monsoon rains across key growing areas, traders said on Wednesday (Sep 15).