Oilmeal exports may touch Rs 6,000 crore

Global prices likely to push earnings by 50%.

India's earnings from oilmeal exports are likely to go up by 50 per cent this year as prices have shot up in the international markets for all the products in the oilseed basket.

While the country earned Rs 4,000 crore from exporting 51.7 lakh tonnes last year, it is expected to rake in Rs 6,000 crore this year despite the industry estimate of exports remaining at the last year's level.
 

HOW THEY FARED Major destinations of oilmeals exports
In tonnes Country	April to January		% Chng
	2006-07	2007-08
Vietnam	8,96,800	12,09,073	35
South Korea	7,63,725	6,45,950	-15
China	4,21,550	2,78,725	-34
Japan	4,31,700	5,16,175	20
Indonesia	5,91,275	3,38,378	-43
Thailand	2,60,000	2,82,873	9
Taiwan	1,56,200	1,20,489	-23

According to B V Mehta, the executive director of the Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA), the export of oilmeals is unlikely to rise this year though the output is expected to increase, thanks to rising domestic demand.

According to SEA estimates, the country's total oilseed output may rise to 26 million tonnes, including a bumper rabi crop of 9.5-10 million tonnes this year compared with 23.9 million tonnes last year.

While the rupee had appreciated about 14 per cent last year, the prices of edible oilseeds have appreciated by an average 80 per cent.

Soybean meal, whih was quoted at $247 a tonne in February 2007, has gone up 65 per cent this year to $406. Similarly, rapeseed, groundnut and castorseed meal have risen by 80, 70 and 85 per cent to $212, $310 and $120 a tonne from $118, $182, and $65 a tonne, respectively.

Meanwhile, according to data compiled by SEA, the overall export of oilmeals for the April 2007-January 2008 period has recorded a meagre increase of 0.6 per cent at 3,822,475 tonnes compared with 3,798,352 tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

The marginal increase in exports was largely attributed to a decrease in export of rapeseed meal from 748,475 tonnes to 691,252 tonnes, groundnut meal from 70,550 tonnes to 44,975 tonnes and ricebran extraction from 182,075 tonnes to 127,500 tonnes in the first ten months of 2007-08.

But castorseed meal exports bucked the trend, with exports rising to 253,400 tonnes from 156,175 tonnes following increased buying from South Korea and Taiwan.

In volume terms, exports will continue to remain under pressure throughout the oil year (October-November) from domestic demand and since realisation in the local market is on par with the global market.

Oilmeal exports in January went up by 29 per cent to 833,075 tonnes from 646,450 tonnes for the same month last year due to increase in exports of soybean meal and groundnut meal. Exports were likely to pick up in the coming months as the peak season was about to begin, an industry source said.