September 16, 2010
Indian soymeal sales seen to double
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 in 2009 on ample monsoon rains across key growing areas, traders said on Wednesday (Sep 15).
In a recent deal, Vietnam bought 12,000 tonnes of soymeal from India at around US$410, including cost and freight, for shipment in November. Soymeal from Argentina is being quoted around US$430-440 a tonne.
The country's soymeal exports took a hit in 2009-10 on lower domestic production and availability of cheaper cargoes from Argentina and Brazil. India's soymeal exports from October to August were 2 million tonnes versus more than 3 million tonnes sold in a normal year.
"Even with a reduced area of around 250,000 hectares we should be having good crop, much better than last year," Rajesh Agrawal, spokesman of the Soy Processors Association of India said.
Traders said India's soymeal exports were likely to reach more that 1 million tonnes by December as domestic crushers brace for strong soy arrivals from next month. The crushing activity will gather pace from October as there will be rush of beans, traders said.
However, there have been some concerns over excess rains. India's monsoon rains are likely to start easing nearly a month later than normal, the weather office said on Tuesday, raising the risk of floods in some areas and delays to soy harvesting.
Excessive September rain in the world's top vegetable oils buyer could also hurt the soy harvest, which usually begins mid-month, which could boost demand for imports.