India's soyabean output in 2011/12 is likely to rise 10.5 percent to 10.5 million tonnes as farmers plant a larger area with the crop and rains are adequate, fuelling chances soyameal exports may rise in the year, a senior industry official said. "Area is up. Weather is so far good in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Production should rise by one million tonnes from last year's level," B.V. Mehta, executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), said on the sidelines of a conference.
In 2010/11 the country produced 9.5 million tonnes of soyabean, the main summer-sown oilseed crop. Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the country's top two producing states, accounting for over 85 percent of total output. Soyabean is crushed to produce soyameal and oil. As on August 5, the acreage under soyabean in India stood at 10.01 million hectares against 8.97 million hectares a year ago, farm ministry data showed last week. Soyabean production could rise by up to one million tonnes, but the weather will need to remain normal in August, a key month for the crop's vegetative growth and flowering, said Dorab Mistry, a leading industry analyst.
Mehta said higher soyabean output would give the flexibility for overseas shipments, although price would be key. The country is likely to export 4.1 million tonnes of soyameal in the current crop year ending in September, sharply higher than 2.2 million tonnes a year ago.
Indian soyameal is preferred by Asian buyers over Latin American supplies as it is derived from non-genetically modified soyabean. Geographical proximity also makes Indian soyameal less expensive for Asian importers. Indian soyameal exports have also benefited from a rise in demand from Middle East countries. Oilmeal exports in April to July to the Middle East soared 286 percent to 174,549 tonnes, data compiled by SEA showed. Higher soyabean production, however, is not seen helping the country in reducing vegetable oil imports as the area sown with higher oil content crops like groundnut and sunflower has shrunk, Mehta said.