India has crushed more than half of its 2011/12 soyabean crop to meet aggressive export demand for soyameal and is likely to start the new marketing year in October with meagre carry forward stocks of beans, a senior industry official said. "Around 6.5 million tonnes of soyabean have already been crushed out of total arrivals of 7.5 million tonnes," Rajesh Agrawal, chief co-ordinator at the Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA), told Reuters in an interview.
India is likely to produce 11.93 million tonnes soyabean in the current crop year ending in September 2012, higher than last year's 10.12 tonnes, estimates SOPA, a top trade body. Though the expected output is nearly 12 million tonnes, at least one million tonnes of this would be used as seed for plantation of next year's crop, he said. Peak soyabean arrival season is over and farmers are now releasing their stocks slowly, he said. Firm overseas markets and an estimated drop in local rapeseed crop are encouraging farmers to hold their stocks, Agrawal said.
However, robust export demand for soyameal and a rally in soyaoil have had oil millers buy beans aggressively. On Friday soyabean futures hit a record high of 2,912 rupees ($58.36) per 100 kg. Soyabean is crushed to produce meal and oil. Millers were earlier concerned about soyameal exports as Beijing in January halted imports from India after it found a hazardous chemical in the product last year. But the ban is unlikely to have an impact on overall exports, which are likely to remain steady at last year's level, Agrawal said.