Soybean rises

COMMODITY SPIKES

Soybean futures have firmed up by 1.45 per cent during the week from Rs 1,526 a quintal to Rs 1,548 due to a firmness in the overseas market, with the CBOT giving underlying support to trade.

However, according to a Karvy Commodities report, soybean futures are projected to trade on a negative note in the coming days, with expectations of bumper production and early arrivals. Sluggish exports of soybean meal is also drawing the bears to the market.

Export of soybean meal during July '07 were down at 75,862 tonnes against 160,692 tonnes during the same period last year. Soybean production for the current year would be in the range of 80-90 lakh tonnes against the last years's 76 lakh tonnes , according to SOPA.

According to the crop sowing data with the agriculture ministry, soybean acreage had reached 84.74 lakh hectares as on Friday versus 79.17 lakh hectares last year.