India's oilmeal exports up 5% in Oct; rapeseed meal shipments decline

India's export of oilmeals rose 5 per cent to 3.05 lakh tonnes in October compared to 2.89 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period, according to industry body SEA.

However, during the April-October period of the 2024-25 fiscal year, the overall oilmeal exports declined 7 per cent to 23.88 lakh tonnes against 25.66 lakh tonnes in the corresponding period last year, primarily due to lower shipments of rapeseed and castorseed meals.

The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) said in a statement that rapeseed meal exports dropped to 1.60 lakh tonnes in October from 1.69 lakh tonnes a year ago.

India, traditionally a major exporter of rapeseed meal as cattle feed, shipped about 22 lakh tonnes in the 2023-24 fiscal year, helping farmers secure better prices.

 

"However, this year presents new challenges," SEA said, noting that rapeseed meal exports have fallen 25 per cent in the first seven months of the current fiscal to 11.8 lakh tonnes from 15.1 lakh tonnes in the year-ago period.

The industry body attributed the decline to higher pricing in the international market and urged the government to provide a 15 per cent incentive through higher RoDTEP rates, transport subsidy, and interest subvention to boost export competitiveness.

Soyabean meal exports increased to 1.14 lakh tonnes in October from 87,060 tonnes a year ago, while groundnut extraction shipments rose to 2,733 tonnes from 1,990 tonnes.

Castorseed meal exports declined to 27,960 tonnes from 31,469 tonnes a year earlier.

Major export destinations include South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Bangladesh, Iran, and Taiwan.