India has contracted to export up to half a million tonnes of soymeal at $430-$475 a tonne to kick off shipments in the new crop year that started in October, with traders expecting annual overseas sales to touch last year's levels.

Of the 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes so far contracted, nearly half will go to Iran and the rest to other traditional buyers such as Japan, Thailand and South Korea, Rajesh Agrawal, coordinator of the Soybean Processors Association of India, said by telephone from Indore, a trading hub in central India.

India sold nearly 2.2 million tonnes of soymeal in the year to September 2014, about 40 per cent lower than the previous year after unseasonable rain hit the crop.

Last year deals started at $475 to $480 a tonne FAS and stuck at that level for some time, although some deals were done as high as $650.

Exports to Iran, a leading buyer of India's soymeal, are expected to reach 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes this year, Agrawal said.

"The season has started on a slow note and it is too early to talk about exports for the 2014/15 year, but we should be able to meet last year's levels," he said.

Overall exports could have been higher by now but farmers were reluctant to sell earlier because they expected prices to spike after a late start to the monsoon and traders also held back, expecting export prices to go up.

In India, the world's fifth-biggest producer of soybeans, the crop is sown in June when monsoon rains arrive and planting is usually over by mid-July.

This year's monsoon began slowly and rains picked up only towards the tail end of the season, although farmers were mostly happy with how the rainy season panned out.

As farmers and traders took their time in signing export contracts, other leading soymeal suppliers such as Brazil, Argentina and the United States cashed in on India's indecision.

Healthy soybean output in the United States helped buyers in Southeast Asia clinch some competitive deals, at the expense of India.

"Most feed stock owners in Iran, Europe or Southeast Asia order soymeal two to three months in advance. They will not wait for us if we delay or take time in entering the market," said Mohan Narang, head of New Delhi-based trading company K S Commodities.

Soymeal is the solid residue left after extracting oil from soybeans. Other than southeast Asia, it is shipped to Iran and Europe to be used as an animal feed.

India is the only supplier of non-genetically modified soymeal to Europe, with an average volume of 200,000 tonnes a year.

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