India's 2019/20 soymeal exports could fall 28.6pc

• The country's soymeal exports are likely to fall to 1.5 million tonnes in the new marketing year from 2.1 million tonnes in 2018/19.
• India's soybean production could fall to 9.5 million tonnes in 2019/20, down nearly 10pc from a year earlier.

MUMBAI: India's soymeal exports could fall 28.6pc in the marketing year that begins in October 2019, as a surge in domestic prices will make overseas shipments uncompetitive, leading industry analyst Thomas Mielke said on Thursday.

Lower exports from India, Asia's leading supplier of soymeal, a key animal feed extracted from soybean, could encourage rival South American suppliers to boost their shipments to the region.

The country's soymeal exports are likely to fall to 1.5 million tonnes in the new marketing year from 2.1 million tonnes in 2018/19, Mielke, editor of the Oil World, the Hamburg, Germany-based newsletter said at the Globoil India conference.

Soybean prices in India have risen 11pc in the last five weeks to the highest in 3-1/2 years, as heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh, India's top soybean producing state, have hit the crop.

As a result, India's soybean production could fall to 9.5 million tonnes in 2019/20, down nearly 10pc from a year earlier, Mielke said.

A sharp rise in local soybean prices would drag down exports from India, he said.

Mielke also said that India's soymeal exports are likely to fall depending on soybean production remaining normal in south America, where weather conditions look good.

Traders quote India's soymeal prices for November-December delivery at $465 per tonne on free-on-board basis, higher than nearly $310 a tonne for the supplies from Argentina.