December 19, 2007

India expects record soymeal exports as demand soars

India, Asia's biggest supplier of soymeal, is expecting record exports of the feed this year, according to industry sources.

India has sold 2.5 million tonnes since October.

Targeted export volume for the year ending September 2008 are 4.5 million tonnes.

India's other competitors include Brazil and Argentina. However higher freight rates means India's soymeal have become cheaper relative to South American ones.

The main importing countries of soymeal include China, Vietnam, Indonesia and South Korea.

Soymeal prices have risen more than 70 percent the past year as US soy acreage shrunk.

The 4.5 million target is a 1-million tonne increase from exports in the 2006/07 marketing year, although the soy crop forecast only predicted a 580,000-tonne increase from 8.87 million tonnes to 9.45 million tonnes.

Indian soymeal prices have almost doubled to around US$400 a tonne from a year earlier.

The price increase comes as both the EU and China sought to take advantage of lower freight charges from India to their respective markets.