October 24, 2012

 

 

As the new season crop arrives, India's soymeal exports are up sharply, with deals for one million tonnes in October-December and more to come in coming weeks, which help to ease tight global supplies due to US drought.

 

Traders in India, Asia's top exporter, are offering discounts of around US$10-15 per tonne to supplies from Brazil, Argentina and the US as domestic output surges after poor availability in July-September that pushed shipments down 66% to 181,210 tonnes from a year ago.

 

"Soy supplies are improving. Daily arrivals in the country have risen to 800,000 bags," Davish Jain, chief of the Indore-based Prestige Group, a soymeal exporter, told Reuters. A bag is about 100 kilogrammes.

 

The contracted one million tonnes of soymeal is heading mainly to Thailand, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea, Jain said. Demand from sanctions-hit Iran has also picked up, he said.

 

Soymeal exports to Iran doubled for the April-September period on a year ago, according to data from the Solvent Extractors' Association, and the country's leading exporter, Ruchi Soya, predicted last month they could hit 800,000 tonnes in 2012-13, up 60% on a year earlier.

 

Ruchi Soya's managing director, Dinesh Shahra, said then that total exports could hit five million tonnes in the year from October 1, up 11%.

 

Indian soymeal is preferred by Asian buyers over Latin American supplies as it is derived from non-genetically modified soy. Geographical proximity also makes Indian soymeal less expensive for Asian importers. Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and Iran were key buyers of Indian soymeal in 2011-12.

 

"Exports demand is very good since we are offering a discount over other destinations," Rajesh Agrawal, chief co-ordinator at the Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA), a top trade body, told Reuters.

 

"It will remain strong. The only concern is soy supplies. They have risen, but may fall again in coming weeks due to festivals," he said.

 

Indians will celebrate Dussehra festival this week and Diwali, or the festival of lights, in November. Spot markets for agriculture commodities remain closed on key festival days and farmers also prefer to celebrate instead of harvesting crops.

 

On Tuesday, Indian soymeal was offered at around US$545 per tonne on a free on board basis at the western coast, dealers said. That is sharply down from an average price of US$668 per tonne in September. Soymeal exports could gain further momentum if port delays are cleared, and rise to 1.5 million tonnes in October-December on robust demand, Jain said.

 

"Congestion at ports is slowing down the pace of exports. If congestion comes down, then we can export even higher quantity," Jain said.

 

However, there could be strong competition for supplies from the local animal feed industry, especially as the peak consumption period of winter approaches.

 

"Local demand is also very strong. That is reducing the surplus for exports," Agrawal said.

 

The Indian poultry and animal feed industry has been restocking as inventory was depleted in the July-September quarter due to thin supplies and higher prices, said an oil miller based in Indore, who declined to be named.

 

By 0553 GMT, the key soy November contract on India's National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange was down 1.19% at INR3,382 (US$63) per 100 kilogrammes. India's soy production in 2012-13 is likely to rise 8.8% from a year earlier to 12.67 million tonnes on the back of higher acreage and better per hectare yields, an industry body said earlier this month.