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Informist, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024

By Anjali Lavania

MUMBAI – Prices of mustard fell in Jaipur, while soybean prices rose in Indore, traders said. Prices of groundnut in Gondal, Gujarat, were steady, they said.

MUSTARD seed prices in Jaipur were down by INR 25 at INR 6,700-INR 6,725 per 100 kg. Arrivals in Rajasthan increased by 30,000 bags to 115,000 bags (1 bag = 50 kg). Across India, arrivals increased by 75,000 bags to 225,000 bags, according to Marudhar Trading Agency.

"The overall trend appears to be bearish in the medium term as the imports have increased significantly," said Mahesh Sameriya, a Rajasthan-based trader. Edible oil imports in October rose 43% on year to 1.42 million tonnes, according to data by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India. 

Sluggish exports of mustard meal are also affecting mustard prices in a negative way, he said. In October, exports of mustard meal fell to 160,653 tonnes from 169,422 tonnes a year ago, according to SEA data. Similarly, during Apr-Oct, exports of rapeseed fell to 1.18 million tonnes from 1.51 million tonnes in the year-ago period, as per the data. Bangladesh, South Korea, and Thailand are the major importers of rapeseed meal. 

In Kota, Rajasthan, mustard prices were down by INR 50 at INR 5,950 per 100 kg, with arrivals increasing by 500 bags to 3,000 bags, Sameriya said.

SOYBEAN prices in Indore rose by INR 100 to INR 4,000-INR 4,390 per 100 kg, said Sandeep Sarda, a local trader. Arrivals were up by 500 bags at 3,000 bags (1 bag = 90 kg), he added. This is a temporary change. However, in the long run, soybean prices are estimated to remain bearish by the traders and industry participants. Soybean prices in Kota, Rajasthan, were steady at INR 4,350 per 100 kg with arrivals being unchanged at 45,000 bags, Sameriya said. 

Soybean prices in states such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra continue to be below the minimum support price of INR 4,892 per 100 kg. This situation persists even after weeks of the government increasing import duties on edible oils, aimed at boosting domestic production. The drop in prices is due to factors like an increase in supply, poor stock conditions, delayed and reduced procurement by the government, sluggish soymeal exports, and high import dependency. Current soybean prices are in the range of INR 3,800-INR 4,600 per 100 kg.

"The volume of government procurement has been insufficient to stabilise prices," Indrajit Paul, head of research at Agrocorp International, said. In Madhya Pradesh, soybean procurement reached only 0.7% of the procurement target of 1.37 million tonnes, and in Maharashtra, procurement was only 0.3% of the target of 1.31 million tonnes. Overall procurement reached 1.2% of the target of 3.2 million tonnes all over India, Paul said. "Procurement in Madhya Pradesh was 9,972 tonnes and in Maharashtra was 3,888 tonnes and all over India was 39,399 tonnes," Paul said.

GROUNDNUT prices in Gondal markets were steady at INR 5,000-INR 6,800 per 100 kg, said Ashok Virvani, a trader from Gujarat. "The trend appears to be bearish in the short term to medium term due to huge quantities of poor-quality groundnuts arrivals in mandis," Virvani said. During Apr-Oct, exports of groundnut meal fell to 7,823 tonnes from 13,146 tonnes in the year-ago period, as per the data.

SUNFLOWER OIL imports in October rose to 239,116 tonnes from 153,780 tonnes a year ago, the Solvent Extractors' Association said. During oil year 2023-24 (Nov-Oct), India imported sunflower oil from Russia, Romania, Ukraine, and Argentina, the association said.

On the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange:

--The November contract of crude sunflower oil was down 0.4% at INR 1,330.30 per 10 kg.

End

Edited by Avishek Dutta

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