India Soybean Meal Export to Jump on 'Excellent' Crop.

Soybean meal exports from India, Asia's biggest supplier, may jump 38 percent to the highest in three years as above-normal rain aids crops, and Vietnam and South Korea increase purchases, a processors' group said.

Shipments, including sales to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, may jump to as much as 4 million metric tons in the year starting Oct. 1, the most since 2007-2008, from 2.9 million tons this season, said Rajesh Agrawal, a coordinator for the Soybean Processors Association of India, in a telephone interview from central Indian city of Indore today.

Rising supplies from India may pressure soybean meal prices that have jumped 14.5 percent in the past six months in Chicago and increase competition for the U.S., Argentina and Brazil to supply China, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.

"India is poised to substantially increase its export in the coming crop season," said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of Sunwin group, a Mumbai-based soybean meal broker. "Deals will pick up as crop size becomes clearer in the coming weeks."

Traders have signed contracts for 150,000 tons to 200,000 tons with buyers in Vietnam and South Korea for delivery in the quarter ending December, Agrawal said. Soybean meal, mixed with poultry feed as a form of protein to aid birds' growth, has been sold at prices between $365 a ton and $378 a ton, he said.

Soybean meal futures for December delivery rose as much as 0.7 percent to $295.8 a ton in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soybeans for October delivery on the National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange in Mumbai lost as much as 1.1 percent to 2,058 rupees ($44) per 100 kilograms.

'Good Demand'

Indian exports of the meal in the season ending Sept. 30 may drop to 2.9 million tons from 3.2 million a year earlier, as a surge in domestic seed prices prompted buyers to shift to supplies from South America and the U.S., according to SOPA.

Still, "there's good demand for Indian meal despite projections of higher supplies from the U.S. and South America," Agrawal said. "There will be no issue marketing our crop as we have a freight advantage."

Production of the oilseed in the U.S., the largest grower and exporter, will total 3.483 billion bushels, up 3.7 percent from a record 3.359 billion last year, the USDA said last week, raising its estimate from the previous month. India's soybean production next year will exceed 9.72 million tons estimated this season despite a contraction in the crop area, Agrawal said.

"The crop is in excellent condition and we expect a better harvest than last year," he said. "Early-sown crop will be harvested from the end of this month and arrivals will be in full swing from the middle of October."

The monsoon, the main source of irrigation for India's 235 million farmers, may be as much as 103 percent of the 50-year average as the withdrawal of the rain-bearing clouds has been delayed, the weather bureau said last week.

Source : sfgate.com