Recent bird flu outbreak in eastern India has not affected animal feed soymeal prices in domestic market as export demand determines the meal price, traders and industry official said.
“There is no supply to those states. But (soymeal) prices have not changed,” Ravi Modi, a local soymeal trader, said.
Oilmeal price is currently hovering around Rs 13,200 a quintal, unchanged since December 1. India’s annual soymeal production is around 6.5 mln tn and it exports more than 70 per cent of it to Southeast Asian countries. In the soybean crop year 2007-08 (October-September), India exported 4.8 million tonne by sea route and around 300,000 tn by surface transport.
“There is no major impact on domestic prices because of bird flu. Indian soymeal is mostly exported. Export price determines domestic price,” a city-based soymeal export broker said.
Soymeal is an essential ingredient in animal feed because of its high protein content. Nearly 15-25 per cent can be used in feed meal.
Local soymeal sales dropped in July-August because of higher prices. But demand picked up again when prices fell from Rs 20,000 a tonne to Rs 13,000 level after September.
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Last week, soymeal export deal prices rose to $280 a tonne from $270 signed two weeks ago. Traders attributed the price rise to shortage of meal supply because of lower crushing activities in main season of November-December.
Government officials of Assam and West Bengal recently confirmed bird flu outbreak. Local administration is taking steps to cull infected chickens. The Orissa government has imposed a ban on importing poultry from West Bengal.
“Major consumption of meal is in southern states and in states like Punjab, more than eastern states. It (domestic soymeal) is a 2-million-tonne market, but we export around 5-million-tonne meal. So, there will be no major impact on prices,” Rajesh Agrawal, spokesperson for Soybean Processors’ Association of India, said.