New Delhi (PTI): India's soyameal exports grew 6.5 per cent to nearly 42.45 lakh tonnes in the last fiscal, an industry body said on Monday.
"The export of soyameal during 2008-09 was 42,45,256 tonnes compared with 39,87,267 tonnes in the previous fiscal, registering a 6.47 growth rate," Indore-based Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) said in a statement on Monday.
Exports slumped 63 per cent to 2,22,876 tonnes in March against 6,05,852 tonnes in the same month last year, SOPA said.
In the first half of the season starting October 2008, exports declined to 25,81,201 tonnes from 32,23,919 tonnes during the same period last year, a fall of 20 per cent, the statement added.
"The fall in exports of soyameal is due to non-arrival of soybean in the market," SOPA Co-ordinator Rajesh Agrawal said.
An industry analyst said the exports towards the second half of the fiscal dipped as the financial crisis dented demand and soyabean farmers held back stocks, expecting better prices for their produces in future.
Source : The Hindu