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Informist, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026

 

By Taniva Singha Roy

 

MUMBAI - Indian soymeal exports and domestic demand are expected to continue to decline in the rest of 2025-26 (Apr-Mar) period due to uncompetitive pricing and the poultry industry shifting to distiller's dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for feed, according to market experts. India has ample DDGS production, and the trade deal with the US is likely to result in higher imports of the animal feed, they said.

 

India's soymeal exports declined 22% on year to 1.38 million tonnes in Apr-Jan, according to data from the Solvent Extractors' Association of India. Soymeal exports in January fell 54% on year to 132,440 tonnes. Demand for Indian soymeal in global markets is poor, with the commodity facing stiff competition from South and North American producers, the association said.

 

In the current financial year, India's soymeal exports are unlikely to exceed 1.5 million tonnes, compared with 2.1 million tonnes last year, experts said.

 

Indian soymeal is currently not competitive in the global market. In fact, global soymeal prices have been on a downtrend this year. Indian soymeal has been unable to compete with nations such as Brazil and Argentina because their prices are way lower, market experts said. "Indian millers are offering exports at $484 per tonne excluding the transport charges, whereas internationally, soymeal prices are around $396 freight on board," said Rahul Chauhan, director at Igrain India.

 

"India can be called a residual exporter, because India exports whenever there is price parity," Indrajit Paul, research head at Agrocorp International, said.

 

Indian soymeal price is much higher than its competitors due to millers' unwillingness to crush soybean due to depressed demand for the byproduct. Soymeal is a byproduct of soybean crushing. More importantly, millers and refiners are importing crude soyoil and refining it here to meet the domestic consumption demand.

 

In addition, since the 20% ethanol-blending program, or E20, began in India in February 2023, a large amount of DDGS is available in the market, Paul said. The rice-based DDGS has also contributed to the decline in domestic soymeal demand, Chauhan said.

 

The government is pushing the use of rice for ethanol production to reduce its humongous grain stocks. Rice stocks as of Feb. 1 in the central pool were 33.7 million tonnes, far above the buffer norm of 7.6 million tonnes. For the 2025-26 marketing year, the government has allocated 5.2 million tonnes of rice for ethanol production.

 

Domestic production of DDGS is already about 6 million tonnes, and another 500,000 tonnes are likely to enter the market under the India-US deal, Paul said. That will again add to the pressure on soymeal demand.

 

Moreover, DDGS is substantially cheaper than soymeal, making it a popular feedstock, according to Paul. Maize-based DDGS is currently priced at INR 17-INR 20 per kg, while soymeal is priced at around INR 40 per kg. Hence, the poultry industry is shifting to DDGS for animal feed due to its affordability, Chauhan said.

 

In the near term, unless soymeal prices cool down and compete with DDGS prices, demand will not improve, experts said.

 

Indian soymeal exports will not recover unless there is some weather-related event in South America, Paul said. If Argentina faces weather disruptions and soymeal prices rally in those countries, only then can there be a recovery in overseas demand for Indian soymeal. Otherwise, it's not possible for soymeal exports from India to increase this year, Chauhan said. 

 

However, Chauhan believes that in the long term, DDGS is not the best alternative for animal feed, as its nutrient density is insufficient for end consumption. "The poultry industry has reported that the animals are facing weight loss after consuming DDGS. Which is why there is a possibility of demand for soymeal reviving," he said.

 

SOYBEAN SCENARIO

Soybean prices have been depressed so far in 2025-26 due to sluggish demand from millers. Prices in some key markets are ruling below the minimum support prices of INR 5,328 per 100 kg. Farmers are shifting cultivation to other lucrative crops such as corn and sugarcane, Narendra Porwal, a trader in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, said.

 

In Rajasthan's Kota, soybean prices are trading at INR 5,201 per 100 kg, and in Ratlam, lower-quality soybean are at INR 2,500 per 100 kg, while the best-quality beans are at INR 5,232 per 100 kg, local traders said.

 

This is because millers are relying on imported crude soyoil for refining, rather than crushing domestically produced soybeans, traders said. "Miller demand is subdued as they are not being able to sell the byproduct soymeal due to subdued demand," a trader said.

 

Moreover, prices of palm oil are much lower than soyoil, depressing the demand for the latter. This year, palm oil is nearly $95-$100 cheaper than soyoil, Paul said. Also, higher soybean production globally will put downward pressure on prices, experts said.

 

In South America, soybean production is higher than last year. Even in the US, soybean crushing is proceeding faster than a year ago. End

 

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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