Export of oilmeals declined by 37 per cent during the April-February period of the current fiscal mainly due to the decline in the export of soyabean meal.

According to Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) data, the country exported 21.31 lakh tonnes (lt) of oilmeals during the first 11 months of 2021-22 against 33.66 lt in the corresponding period a year ago, recording a decline of 37 per cent.

BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA of India, said the decline in exports is mainly due to a drop in the export of soyabean meal during the period. India exported 3.48 lt of soyabean meal during the first 10 months of the fiscal against 14.18 lt in the same period a year ago, down 75.45 per cent.

Soyabean crushing margins in India are currently squeezed by pressure on meal prices due to the relatively high price expectation of farmers for soyabean seed. The price is currently quoted over ₹7,850 a quintal, he said.

Stating that India is out-priced for export of soyabean meal at present, Mehta said the ex-Kandla export price is quoted at $890 a tonne against $641 for Brazil origin and $644 for Argentina origin.

“India is unlikely to be competitive for export in next 2-3 months due to high price of domestic soyabean. Lesser crushing of soyabean also pushing higher import of crude soyabean oil into India,” Mehta said.

Rapeseed meal

Export of rapeseed meal declined to 7.72 lt during April-February of 2021-22 from 10.28 lt in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.

India crushed rapeseed crop heavily during initial months of the season last year, he said, adding, hardly seed is available for crushing now, affecting the export of rapeseed meal in the last four months. He said the new crop for crushing is likely to be available from this month.

Ricebran

However, the export of ricebran extractions went up from 5.14 lt in April-February of 2020-21 to 6.58 lt in the first 11 months of the current financial year 2021-22.

Mehta said ricebran extraction is performing better due to larger demand from Vietnam and Bangladesh.

India’s export of castorseed meal stood at 3.49 lt (3.90 lt) during the first 11 months of 2021-22.

Major importers

During the April-February of 2021-22, South Korea imported 5.72 lt of oilmeals (7.61 lt) from India. This included 2.79 lt of rapeseed meal, 2.52 lt of castorseed meal and 40,080 tonnes of soyabean meal.

Vietnam imported 5.13 lt of oilmeals (4.72 lt)during the above-mentioned period. This included 4.28 lt of ricebran extraction, 80,573 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 4,587 tonnes of soyabean meal, and 440 tonnes of groundnut meal.

During the first 11 months of 2021-22, Thailand imported 1.44 lt of oilmeals (1.94 lt) from India. This included 1.30 lt of rapeseed meal, 9,816 tonnes of castorseed meal, 3,283 tonnes of soyabean meal, and 1,367 tonnes of ricebran extraction.

Bangladesh imported 3.30 lt of oilmeals (4.17 lt) comprising 1.47 lt of ricebran extractions, 1.83 lt of rapeseed meal, and 229 tonnes of soyabean meal.

India exported 85,114 tonnes of oilmeals (1.24 lt) to Taiwan during the above-mentioned period. This included 59,865 tonnes of castorseed meal, 20,342 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 3,936 tonnes of soyabean meal, and 917 tonnes of groundnut meal.

India’s export of oilmeals to the US came down to 62,436 tonnes (2.15 lt) during April- February of 2021-22. This included 61,137 tonnes of soyabean meal and 1,284 tonnes of rapeseed meal.

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