India’s export earnings from the overseas shipments of soyameal rose by 8 per cent to an all time high of Rs 7,735.82 crore in the first 11 months of the current oil year, according to industry data.
The country had exported soyameal, which is mainly used as cattle and poultry feed, worth Rs 7,170.47 crore in the October-August period of the 2010-11 oil year, according to data provided by Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) to PTI.
Soyameal oil year runs from October to September. The earnings so far from export of soyameal in current oil year have surpassed the record achieved in the 2010-11 oil year of Rs 7,582.83 crore. Before this, India had earned forex worth Rs 7,332 crore in the 2007-08 oil year, the data showed.
High prices and buoyant demand for soyameal in the domestic market has led to a decline in export volumes.
In the first 11 months of the 2011-12 oil year, the exports were down by 7 per cent to 36,20,045 tonnes compared to 39,00,777 tonnes in the October-August period of 2010-11 oil year.
“The exports have shrunk on account of low crushing and arrival of soyabean in the market. Besides, the prices of soyameal in the domestic market in August was high and the demand has been increasing,” SOPA spokesperson Rajesh Agrawal said.
The volume of shipments last month nosedived by 94 per cent to just 10,006 tonnes as against 1,65,408 tonnes in the same month of 2011.
India exports soyameal to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and China, among others.
India is estimated to have harvested 12.28 million tonnes of soyabean in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) against 12.73 million tonnes in the year-ago period.