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Informist, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025

 

MUMBAI – India's oilmeal exports in August fell nearly 12% on year to 276,834 tonnes, according to data released by the Solvent Extractors' Association of India Saturday. Oilmeal exports in Apr-Aug were at nearly 1.8 million tonnes, down over 4% from 1.9 million tonnes in the same period last year.

 

Exports of soymeal in August fell nearly 49% on year to 80,233 tonnes from 156,961 tonnes a year ago, which is also the lowest in any month of this financial year. In Apr-Aug, soymeal exports were at 757,225 tonnes, against 848,982 tonnes a year ago. Soymeal is losing its market share in the poultry feed segment due to availability of cheaper substitutes such as DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles), the association said.

 

Availability of cheaper substitutes has led to lower soybean meal prices in the domestic market. Also, prices of soymeal are cheaper in south and north America leading to lower export demand for Indian soymeal, the association said. These factors have also impacted soybean sowing in the kharif season as farmers shifted to other crops. Soybean acreage as of Sept. 12 in this kharif season was down 5% on year at 12.04 million hectares.  

 

Exports of mustard meal rose nearly 38% on year to 174,397 tonnes in August, and exports during Apr-Aug rose to 915,175 tonnes from 884,638 tonnes a year ago. This rise in rapeseed meal exports was mainly due to high supply and firm demand for the meal from China, which imported 368,000 tonnes of mustard meal during Apr-Aug, against 17,396 tonnes during the corresponding period in the previous year, the association said. Buoyed by strong domestic demand for mustard oil--especially the traditional kachi ghani variety--India's crushing activities gained momentum, resulting in higher production of rapeseed meal.

 

The demand surge from China is attributed to India's pricing advantage in global markets, the association said. As on Thursday, India's mustard meal was priced at $200 per tonne against Hamburg ex-mill price of $236 per tonne. "This price competitiveness, combined with India's logistical proximity to major consuming markets, has reinforced its reputation as a reliable, cost-effective supplier in the global oilmeal trade," the association said.  

 

Exports of castor seed meal rose to 21,424 tonnes in August from 15,567 tonnes a year ago, while these were down nearly 9% on year during Apr-Aug at 106,456 tonnes, the association said. Exports of groundnut meal fell over 34% on year to 781 tonnes in August, but were up a whopping 221% on year at 14,960 tonnes during Apr-Aug. 

 

In Apr-Aug, a total of 411,233 tonnes of oilmeal was exported from the Kandla port, down from 682,785 tonnes a year ago, the association said. Exports from the Mundra port were at 633,474 tonnes, up from 410,492 tonnes in the year-ago period, according to the association. During the same period, exports from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust in Mumbai fell to 300,638 tonnes from 303,916 tonnes a year ago, it said. 

 

In Apr-Aug, India's oilmeal exports to Bangladesh fell to 178,190 tonnes from 325,761 tonnes in the corresponding period a year ago, data showed. Exports to South Korea fell to 209,887 tonnes, from 338,945 tonnes in the year-ago period, the data showed. Oilmeal exports to Vietnam fell to 92,189 tonnes from 113,666 tonnes a year ago, the data showed. European nations such as Germany and France turned out to be major importers of soymeal from India and imported 135,988 tonnes and 53,074 tonnes, respectively.

 

There were no rice bran meal exports in August. The government prohibited the export of de-oiled rice bran on Jul. 28, 2023. This initial ban was subsequently extended multiple times, with the most recent extension pushing the prohibition to Sept. 30. The ban is primarily aimed at stabilising domestic prices of cattle feed ingredients.

 

In view of a sharp fall in prices of de-oiled ricebran, the association has once again appealed to the government to lift the ban and not to extend beyond Sept. 30. "This will help the disposal of surplus of de-oiled ricebran and same time boosting the export as appeal by Hon'ble Prime Minister," it said.

 

The following table details exports of various oilmeals, in tonnes, in August and Apr-Aug, compared with the year-ago numbers, according to the latest data from SEA, and the year-on-year change in percentage terms:

 

Oilmeal	Aug-25 (in tn)	Aug-24 (in tn)	Change (in %)	Apr-Aug 2025 (in tn)	Apr-Aug 2024 (in tn)	Change (in %)
Soymeal	80,233	156,961	(-)49	757,225	848,982	(-)11
Mustard meal	174,397	126,610	38	915,175	884,638	3
Groundnut meal	781	1,186	(-)34	14,960	4,662	221
Rice bran meal	--	14,039	--	14,039	--	--
Castor meal	21,424	15,567	38	106,456	116,467	(-)9
Total	276,834	314,363	(-)12	1,793,816	1,868,789	(-)4

 

End

 

US$1 = INR 88.20

 

Reported by J. Navya Sruthi

Edited by Tanima Banerjee

 

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