India's soyameal exports are expected to nearly double to 3.7 million tonnes in the year ending September 2006 on strong demand from Vietnam and Japan and competitive prices, a top trade official said on Monday.
Indian meal was being sold at $205-206 a tonne free on board to Southeast Asia, Rajesh Agrawal, chairman of the Soyabean Processors' Association of India, said. Prices have ranged from $190-210 during the season that began in October, which was competitive with the meal from other origins like Argentina and Brazil, he said.
"Vietnam, Japan, China, South Korea and Indonesia were among the strong buyers of Indian meal during the year," Agrawal told Reuters over telephone from the central Indian City of Indoor.
He said good buying was also emerging from Bangladesh and Pakistan where around 25,000 tonnes of meal were being shipped every month.
The two countries together were expected to buy around 150,000 tonnes of meal during the year, he said. "Everywhere Indian meal was better accepted this year because it is non-genetically modified and of good quality," Agrawal said.
Vietnam with purchases so far of 621,000 tonnes was the largest buyer of Indian meal followed by Japan with 521,000 tonnes and China with 518,000 tonnes. South Korea, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand were the other significant buyers.
Agrawal said an avian flu outbreak in the western Indian State of Maharashtra and some other regions this year had slashed domestic demand for feedstock and freed more meal for exports. He said the country had exported 3.34 million tonnes of soyameal between October and may against 1.45 million at the same time a year.
The official said it was forecast the size of the soyabean crop or meal exports in the new season but lack of rains and sluggish sowing in the main growing regions in the central state of Madly Pradesh were raising concern.
"By this time of the year sowing operations start in most regions but until now little sowing has taken place because of scanty rains and it is becoming a matter of concern," he said. "We were expecting above-average sowing this year."
India's annual monsoon rains, crucial for the country's farm-dependent economy, are showing faint signs of a revival after a nearly two-week lull, weather officials said on Monday. The monsoon arrived in the southern state of Kerala six days ahead of schedule on May 26, and then advanced to about half of India.
But the rains have eased since June 6. Agrawal said stable freight rates in recent weeks between $25 to 27 per tonne to Southeast Asia were also helping sales. "The rates have been around this level for some time," Agrawal said.
"There is no huge demand for vessels or much pressure on supplies and as such rates would remain friendly."
He said freight rates to Southeast Asia in the peak season in November and December were around $28-29 per tonne, levels which traders found comfortable for exports.