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Soyabean prices topped a record ₹10,000 per quintal-mark in some mandis (markets) of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, resulting in the cry for imports of soyameal getting shriller from consuming sectors such as poultry and shrimp feed makers.
Trade sources said the demand-supply situation lifted soyabean prices above ₹10,000-mark in some markets of Indore, Nagpur, Ratlam, Shajapur among others, as millers tried to cover their requirements. On NCDEX, soyabean contract for August closed 5.75 lower at ₹10,081 on Monday.
The surging price trend of soyameal has left the poultry and shrimp feed makers worried. Soyabean meal hovered around a record price of ₹93,000 per tonne at Indore.
Demand to import GM meal
The All India Poultry Breeders Association (AIPBA) and Shrimp Feed makers urged the Government to allow imports of 15 lakh tonnes of genetically modified (GM) soyameal to tide over the crisis as the next crop is couple of months away in October.
On Monday, a delegation of Poultry Breeders and Shrimp Feed makers met Commerce, Industries and Food Minister Piyush Goyal and Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Purshottam Rupala to discuss the crisis and requested allowing soyameal imports. Such imports will have no impact on the farmers’ prices as global prices are not lower than the minimum support price of soyabean, they said.
“Indian livestock farmers are not able to feed their cattle, poultry, fishes and shrimp stocks due to non-availability of feed. If GM soyameal import is not permitted it will be a disaster to our livestock and will ruin the livelihood of our Indian livestock farmers,” said Bahadur Ali, Chairman, All India Poultry Breeders Association, and BM Rao, Chairman, Shrimp Feed Millers Association, in a statement.
Applying safeguards
“Soyameal for livestock application, only crushed and Non-Living-Organisms (NLO) like soyameal should be allowed. This will avoid the chances of gene contamination in India. We are already using the NLO in the form of a Bt-cottonseed meal, with a proper declaration by the authorities from the country of origin. Importing GM soyameal has no impact on bio-diversity. As a safeguard to minimize the trade distortion and its impact on farmers, only GST registered feed mills should be allowed to import the soymeal under specified conditions,” AIPBA said in its memorandum.
Further, AIPBA stated that international soyabean prices are one-third of Indian prices. Moreover, soyameal prices in India are 3.5 times that of international price and meal is not available in India. Whatever is available in Inida is four times the international market cost. “If quick decisions in this context is not taken, there will be a huge crises and the industry will get destroyed,” they said.
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