India is set to make its first shipment of soyameal to China this year, raising traders' hopes of more sales, but a bumper US soyabean harvest and chances of a good South American crop were dampening overall export prospects.
India's traditional soyameal buyers like South Korea have been lured by South American meal, which was available at a cheaper price, and the United States, which had plenty of meal on offer.
"The United States is killing Indian soyameal sales, they don't have a place to keep their bean," said Atoll Chaturvedi, president of the agro-division of Aden Exports Ltd.
Traders said on Thursday soyameal from South America and other origins at Southeast Asian ports was $20 a tonne cheaper than Indian meal, which was quoted at around $180 per tonne free on board.
Chaturvedi said Indian soyameal shipments in November and December would be very low compared with the previous year because no major contracts with Southeast Asian countries have been signed so far.
"We are at the end of October and I don't see a vessel line up at the western ports," he said.
Traders said between 400,000 and 500,000 tonnes of Indian soyameal normally get shipped by November, but this year only a few cargoes had gone.
Sandeep Aggrawal, director at Abuja Exports Ltd, a leading Ahmedabad-based soyameal exporter, said India's exports this year would not be more than 2 to 2.2 million tonnes, a million tonnes less than last year.
"The decline would be due to a combination of factors like a bumper crop in the US and reports of very good sowing in South America," he said.
Traders and port officials said a parcel of 12,000 tonnes of soyameal meant for feed millers was being loaded at Bedi port on India's West Coast and the shipment was scheduled to leave soon. This is the first parcel sent from India to China this year.
The China-bound vessel Iran Meezan has other agree-commodities and would sail in a couple days, a Bedi port official told Reuters.
"The chance of more sales to China is there, but right now it is a wait and watch situation," said a trader based in Indoor, the hub of India's soyabean trade.
"There is more optimism on this front," said another trader. He said current spot meal prices in China, at around $260 a tonne, were very attractive for Indian exporters.
Asian markets have been talking since last month about the possibility of China importing Indian soyameal to meet a protein shortage, following a slowdown in soyabean imports.
Indian farmers were holding back soyabean stocks hoping for better prices and daily arrivals at major markets had dwindled to 40,000-42,000 tonnes against the normal peak of 70,000-80,000 tonnes at this time of the year, traders said.
Soyabean prices had shot up by 400 rupees in the last three days to 12,400 rupees a tonne on Thursday, but were lower than the 18,000 rupees that prevailed in August, traders said.
Comments
Comments are closed.