By Bl Mangaluru Bureau

Copyright thehindubusinessline

A decline in soybean meal exports led to a 12 per cent drop in overall shipments of oilmeal in August.

Data compiled by the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) showed that India exported 2.76 lakh tonne (lt) of oilmeal during August 2025 against 3.14 lt in August 2024, registering a decline of 12.1 per cent. India exported 80,233 tonne of soybean meal in August 2025 (1.56 lt in August 2024).

Overall export of oilmeal declined to 17.93 lt during April-August 2025-26 from 18.68 lt in the corresponding period of the previous year, a decline of 4 per cent.

Competitive American soymeal

BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA, said the export of soybean meal reduced to 7.57 lt in the first five months of 2025-26 from 8.49 lt during the same period a year ago. He attributed the decline to recent downward pressure on soybean meal prices in India. When compared with lower prices in South and North America, this may impact soybean meal export, he said.

Stating that soybean meal is losing market share, mainly in the poultry feed market, to DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles), he said the production DDGS is on the rise owing to increasing production of ethanol in the country.

Soybean acreage declined to 120.43 lakh hectares (lh) as on September 12 2025, from 126.24 lh in the corresponding period of the previous kharif season, a decline of 5.81 lh, due to shifting of area to other crops.

Rapeseed meal up

However, there was an increase in the export of rapeseed meal during April-August of 2025-26. India exported 9.15 lt of rapeseed meal during the first five months of 2025-26 (8.84 lt), a growth of 3.5 per cent.

India’s crushing activities have gained momentum due to the strong domestic demand for mustard oil, especially the traditional ‘kachi ghani’ variety. This has resulted in higher production of rapeseed meal, Mehta said.

This surplus has coincided with a surge in overseas demand with China emerging as the key growth driver. China imported nearly 3.68 lt of Indian rapeseed meal during the first five months of 2025-26 (17,396 tonne).

Attributing this turnaround to India’s pricing advantage in global markets, he said India maintained its edge with a price of $200 a tonne (as on September 18) compared to Hamburg ex-mill price of $236 a tonne.

This price competitiveness, combined with India’s logistical proximity to major consuming markets, has reinforced its reputation as a reliable, cost-effective supplier in the global oilmeal trade. For China, which is keen to diversify its protein feed source, India has become a preferred supplier of rapeseed meal, he said.

Impact of ban on ricebran exports

Mehta said India used to export 5-6 lt of de-oiled ricebran mainly to Vietnam, Thailand and other Asian countries prior to July 2023, and was positioned as a reliable supplier in international market. The government prohibited export of de-oiled ricebran on July 28 2023 attributing it to the high fodder prices with de-oiled ricebran being a major component. The prohibition, which was extended from time to time, is now extended up to September 30, 2025.

The de-oiled ricebran prices now are at the lower level and to go down further with increased availability of DDGS. In view of the above facts and sharp fall in prices of de-oiled ricebran, the SEA has once again appealed to the government to lift the ban / not to extend it beyond September 30 2025. This will help the disposal of surplus of de-oiled ricebran, he said.

Major importers

South Korea imported 2.09 lt of oilmeal from India during April-August 2025-26 (3.38 lt). This included 1.29 lt of rapeseed meal, 55,990 tonne of castorseed meal, and 24,596 tonnes of soybean meal.

India exported 3.75 lt of oilmeal to China during the first five months of 2025-26 (17,396 tonne). This included 3.68 lt of rapeseed meal and 6,927 tonne of castorseed meal.

Bangladesh imported 1.78 lt of oilmeal from India during April-August 2025-26 (3.25 lt). This included 1.21 lt of rapeseed meal and 57,060 tonne of soybean meal.

Germany and France imported 1.35 lt and 53,074 tonne of oilmeal from India, respectively, during the first five months of 2025-26.

Published on September 20, 2025