September 15, 2011

India's soy harvest to be affected by downpour

The expectation of ample soy harvest is being questioned due to latest downpour in India's soy growing areas which caused 15-20% damage to crop on water logging.

According to Satyanarayan Agarwal president of the Central Organization for Oil Industry Trade (COOIT) the soy output was forecast at a record 11.5-12 million tonnes (mt) but now it has dipped to 9.5-10.5 mt. Still total output will rise between 5-7% from last year to 10-10.5 million tonnes this year.

Soy addresses 7-8% of India s annual vegetable oil requirement. The acreage of soy crop in India as on Sept 9 was 10.3 million hectares a 10.7% rise compared to 2010. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has maintained a forecast of 9.8 mt.

Meanwhile the import demand from China is strong and the export of the crop from Brazil and Argentina is projected at 36.5 mt and 11.8 mt an increase of 18% and 39% respectively. US third largest exporter of the crop witnessed a decline in shipment by 8% compared to last year. In India soy are mostly grown in Madhya Pradesh Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The crop requires frequent rain but water logging during growing period can hit germination.