August 13, 2009
Indian soymeal exports seen to rise as plantings escape drought
India, Asia's biggest exporter of soymeal, may sell more than 3.5 million tonnes next year as farmers increased plantings of the oilseed after the main growing areas escaped drought, a processors' group said.
Soybean Processors Association of India spokesman Rajesh Agrawal said traders have agreed to sell about 200,000 tonnes of soymeal from the new crop at US$390 to US$410 a tonne to Japan and South Korea, noting that soy output may top this year's 9.9 million tonnes if the weather stays favourable.
A bigger Indian soy crop will cut sales for processors including US-based Bunge Ltd. and Latin American suppliers of animal feed to Japan and South Korea.
US soy reserves are at a five-year low, and Brazil and Argentina will have smaller harvests this year because of drought.
Agrawal said Indian shipments may total 400,000 tonnes in the two months to September 30, recouping from a 37-percent decline in sales to 2.9 million tonnes in the 10 months to August 31.
He said exports next year will be aided by the 500,000-tonne stockpile of soy with farmers.
A quarter of 626 districts in the South Asian nation have declared drought following the weakest monsoon rainfall in five years, causing acreages of crops to shrink from year earlier levels. Falls in central India, including Madhya Pradesh, the biggest soybean grower, have been normal.
Soymeal for delivery in December added 0.9 percent to US$316.60 a short tonne in after-hours trading in Chicago. Soy for September delivery on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange in Mumbai gained as much as 1.2 percent to Rs2,445 per 100 kilogrammes. Prices have risen 27 percent this year.
