Oilmeals exports surged by 9% in February to nearly 5.16 lac tonnes, driven by increased outward shipments of soyabean meal, according to trade figures.
In a statement released on Friday, Solvent Extraction of India (SEA) reported that oilmeals exports in February reached 515,704 tonnes, up from 471,770 tonnes in the same period last year.
Soyabean meal shipments accounted for 347,905 tonnes of the total oilmeals export last month, with rapeseed meal contributing 144,372 tonnes.
Data indicated a 19% rise in oilmeals exports during the April-February period of this fiscal year, reaching 44,90,055 tonnes compared to 37,60,329 tonnes in the previous year.
Soybean meal exports during April-February of the 2023-24 fiscal year rose to 19.34 lakh tonnes, a significant increase from 7.87 lakh tonnes in the same period of the previous year, driven by Indian competitiveness in the international market.
However, SEA cautioned that soyameal exports might decrease due to lower quoted prices from Argentina.
As of March 13, 2024, Indian soybean meal Ex-Kandla was priced at USD 490 per tonne, while soyameal Argentine cif Rotterdam stood at USD 415 per tonne.
Rapeseed meal exports during April-February of this fiscal year declined to 20.40 lakh tonnes compared to 20.48 lakh tonnes in the previous year.
South Korea imported 787,909 tonnes of oilmeals during April-February of this fiscal year, a decrease from 8,80,615 tonnes in the previous year, according to Free Press Journal.
Exports to Thailand dipped while those to Bangladesh surged significantly.
Vietnam imported 3,94,660 tonnes of oilmeals in the first 11 months of this fiscal year, down from 8,85,146 tonnes in the same period of the previous year.
India’s oilmeals exports to Thailand dropped to 6,04,782 tonnes from 684,419 tonnes.
Bangladesh imported 7,79,558 tonnes of oilmeals from India during April-February of this fiscal year, compared to 448,528 tonnes in the previous year.
Iran emerged as a major importer of Indian soybean meal, with imports reaching 341,206 tonnes during April-February of this fiscal year compared to 3,946 tonnes in the previous year, according to SEA data.
(Finance World and The Free Press Journal have published the article under a mutual content partnership arrangement.)
