Oilmeal exports drop 32% to 34.9 lakh t in 2013-14

PTI
NEW DELHI, NOV 6:
Oilmeal exports fell 32 per cent to 34.86 lakh tonnes in the 2013-14 oil year that ended last month due to a significant decline in soyabean meal shipments owing to lower domestic crop, industry body SEA has said.

The country had shipped 51.29 lakh tonnes of oilmeal, used as animal feed, in the previous year. Oil year runs from November to October.

“Export of soyabean meal has greatly reduced in last six months due to lower than expected crop, that resulted into high cost of soyabean in local market. This led to total disparity for soyabean meal in international market,” according to the Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) data.

Soyabean meal exports

As per SEA data, soyabean meal exports declined 49 per cent to 18.65 lakh tonnes in 2013-14 oil year compared with 36.23 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The availability of soyabean was lower for export purpose as the country’s total output was down at 120 lakh tonnes in the 2013-14 crop year compared with 146.66 lakh tonnes in the previous year, as per the government’s estimate.

SEA said the export of castorseed meal also fell marginally to 4.67 lakh tonnes from 4.95 lakh tonnes, while the shipment of ricebran extraction declined to 92,074 tonnes from 1.51 lakh tonnes in the review period.

Shipment of groundnut meal declined to 1,123 tonnes in 2013-14 oil year from 2,036 tonnes in the year-ago period.

However, the brighter side was that the total export of rapeseed meal increased by 24 per cent to 10.60 lakh tonnes from 8.56 lakh tonnes in the review period.

India exports oilmeal to countries such as South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, Iran and European nations.

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