Oilmeal exports plunged 64 per cent in September to 1,43,990 tonnes on lower demand from major importers. The shipments were against 4,02,500 tonnes logged in the same period a year ago as South Korea, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan cut imports.

The slump was largely due to a 97 per cent drop in soyameal shipments and a 63 per cent decline in castorseed extracts.

Production

Edible oil extractors had cut down production due to high soyabean prices. This has resulted in lower soyabean meal availability and pushed up prices in the domestic markets.

With higher realisation in domestic markets, there was very little interest on exports of soyameal extracts.

However, the export of rice bran extracts increased by 48 per cent in September to 23,400 tonnes.

For the first half of the current fiscal, oilmeal exports were down 24 per cent at 16,03,065 tonnes against 20,96,801 tonnes registered last year.

Lack of buying interest by traders in Iran and other countries also pulled down exports in September, said a press release issued on Friday by Solvent Extractors’ Association of India.

Largest buyer

Interestingly, Iran has emerged as the largest buyer of Indian soyameal extracts in the first six months of the current fiscal accounting for more than half of Indian exports.

Iran imported 4.4 lakh tonnes of the total soyameal exports of 8.22 lakh tonnes in the April-September period.

The recent bilateral payment mechanism that allows importers in Iran to make payments in Indian rupees has aided the soyameal shipments.

For the April-September period, Iran imported a total of 4.57 lakh tonnes of Indian oilmeals compared to 1.5 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Export demand

The drop in export demand pulled down soyameal prices to $668 a tonne in September against $760 realised in August.

Rapeseed meal was also quoted lower at $325 a tonne against $343 a tonne in August. The appreciation in value of rupee against dollar to Rs 54.35 in September against Rs 55.49 in August also discouraged exports.

Demand from South Korea was down seven per cent at 63,734 tonnes (68,540 tonnes) in September. However, South Korea has replaced Japan as the largest buyer of Indian oil meal extracts in the first half of the current fiscal.

South Korea imported a total of 4.59 lakh tonnes of oil meal extracts against 3.38 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

Japan, which had imported close to five lakh tonnes of Indian oil meals in first half of 2011-12, bought only 85,181 tonnes so far this year.

Rajesh Agarwal, spokesperson for Soyabean Processors Association of India, attributed the slump in exports to high prices.

Buyers had preferred to wait-and-watch the prices mainly due to the concern over output in the US, he said.

During September, Thailand more than halved its imports to 17,330 tonnes from 36,032 tonnes, while that of Indonesia fell 75 per cent to 2,580 tonnes from 10,228 tonnes. Vietnam was the only country which increased its order to 40,100 tonnes from 27,924 tonnes.

> Suresh.iyengar@thehindu.co.in

> Vishwanath.kulkarni@thehindu.co.in

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