Soya cheer. Stakeholders expect soyabean output to be up by 1-million tonne

Stakeholders in the oilseed sector are expecting the production of soyabean at 10 million tonnes (mt) during the kharif season.

Speaking at a panel discussion on ‘Domestic kharif oilseed crops situation’, organised by Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India in Goa on Thursday, Atul Chaturvedi, SEA President, said the soyabean production is likely to go up by one mt during this season.

Govindbhai G Patel, Managing Partner of the Rajkot-based Dipak Enterprise, said the production of soyabean is estimated at 10 mt during the season against 8.9 mt in the previous season. The area under the crop has remained almost at 121 lakh hectares, he said.

Of the three major soyabean producing States, Maharashtra is likely to lead in its production. While some regions in Madhya Pradesh received excess rainfall, some others received deficit rainfall. He said the overall situation of the crop in Madhya Pradesh will be average. Because of less rain in Rajasthan, the crop is likely to comparatively less, he said.

Hemant Bansal of Ruchi Soya, estimated the soyabean production at 10.5-11 mt during the season.

However, Ali Muhammad Lakdawala, Procurement Manager of ITC Ltd, said there is a need to focus on the weather conditions during September and October. Any excess rainfall during these months will make an impact on production, he said.

Agreeing with the role of weather on the production prospects, Vidya Bhushan, Head, Edible Oils of Bunge India Ltd, Mumbai, said that the quality of oil will be poor if the quality of soyabean seed is affected due to the bad weather conditions.

Balram Yadav, Managing Director of Godrej Agrovet Ltd, made a special presentation on ‘National Mission on Edible Oils - Oil Palm’.

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