India’s soyameal exports rose 21 per cent to 1,68,341 tonnes in July this year.
The country had shipped 1,39,551 tonnes in the same month in 2011, Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) said in a statement today.
During April-July this year, exports rose 12 per cent to 8,24,208 tonnes from 7,37,522 tonnes in the four-month period of 2010-11.
During October-July of the current oil year (October-September), soyameal exports fell 3 per cent to 36,10,040 tonnes compared with 37,35,369 tonnes in the same period of the 2010-11 oil year.
India exports soyameal to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and China, among others.
The country is estimated to have harvested 12.28 million tonnes of soyabean in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) against 12.73 mt in the year-ago period.
Comments:
Protein in food is the body building nutrient. Our vegetarians have to depend on leguminous seeds such as beans for their chief protein source. However, none of the legume seeds are complete proteins with all the essential amino acids in them except soybeans. Therefore, it is a matter of great concern that the soybean industry in India separates the oil from the bean and export the oil cake containing all the protein to many countries in Asia including China. Protein in our diet helps to build muscles, strength, stamina and endurance. Since India's per capita intake of protein is around 10 grams per day against the recommended 50 grams, India cannot afford to export protein food out of the country taking it away from the already starving millions of poor people and our athletes who is struggling to win an Olympic medal. It appears that the oil lobby cares less for this national loss. The government should step in to stop export of any kind of protein food until India's needs are met.
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