Export Orders for Soyameal Soar.

New Delhi: Asian demand for Indian soyameal, strong since July, has strengthened further this month with exporters busy signing new deals.

Exporters are gung ho about export prospects in coming months. “This year is turning out to be good for the soyameal trade as demand from our traditional buyers has been strong,” said Davish Jain, head of the Central Organisation for Oils Industry and Trade.

“Until the end of September, 4,00,000 tonne of soyameal from the new crop were sold for shipment in October-December,” Jain said on phone from Indore, the heart of India’s soyabean production and processing activity.

More export contracts were signed in last 10-12 days for soyameal from the new crop. “In my view, we can safely estimate soyameal export orders were signed in excess of 5,00,000 tonne,” said Jain, referring to total contracts signed so far for soyameal from the new crop.

The demand for Indian soyameal is expected to stay strong in coming months, said another senior industry official who represents a multinational company dealing in farm goods and metals.

“Worldwide, there is supply tightness in meal as well as in corn,” said the official from the multinational company. Both are widely used as cattle and poultry feed.

The global supply tightness comes at a time when India is expecting a bumper soyabean output at around 10 million tonne in the 2010-11 (November-October) oil season.

In fact, India’s April-September soyameal exports rose 32% to 8,52,877 tonne, compared with 6,44,569 tonne a year ago. India’s oil season is from November-October, while export figures are tabulated April-March.

Global soyameal prices shot up in past three days on tight global supply outlook, especially after the US Department of Agriculture last week scaled down soyabean stock in the US, Jain said.

Prices also moved northwards on doubts over soybean crop size in Brazil in the 2011 season.

Source : financialexpress.com