Prices of soyabean likely to escalate in December end

This year the production of soyabean is estimated at 90 lakh tonne as compared to last years production at 1.10 lakh tonne, a shortfall of 20 lakh tonne

This year the prices of soyabean have been continuously increasing due to lower supply in the market. This trend is likely to continue during the month of December. Shortfall in supply is pushing prices upwards, said Ashwin Jethani of A D Commodities, Itwari while speaking to The Hitavada. The prices of soyabean opened firm at Rs 3,700 per quintal and currently being quoted at Rs 4,280 per quintal. There has been a steep drop in production of 20 lakh tonne as compared to last year. Excess rains have damaged the crop to a large extent in major soyabean producing areas.

This year the production of soyabean is estimated at 90 lakh tonne as compared to last years production at 1.10 lakh tonne, a shortfall of 20 lakh tonne. The prices of soyabean are likely to rise further till December end, he pointed out. Heavy rainfall has severely damaged the crop in Madhya Pradesh which is the largest soyabean producing State in the country. The prices of soyabean has hit a high of Rs 4,330 per quintal and is being quoted at Rs 4,280 per quintal (ex-plant). The new crop has arrived at the APMC, Kalamna marketyard. On a daily average about 6,000 to 7,000 bags (each bag weighing about 95 kg to 100 kg) are being unloaded at the Kalamna market. Last year on an average 10,000 to 12,000 bags were being unloaded in the market, he pointed out. Government has set the minimum support price (MSP) at Rs 3,710 per quintal higher compared to last season’s MSP at Rs 3,399 per quintal.

According to Government data, this year the land under soyabean cultivation was 1.14 crore hectares as against the previous year’s 1.13 crore hectares, Jethani said. The export of de-oiled cake (DoC) for the month of November was at 1.26 lakh tonne as compared to 3.53 lakh tonne during the same period in 2018. The exports have witnessed significant drop of 47 per cent compared to last year, he said. In has been anticipated that the production of soyabean crop in the US will drop 3 per cent to 4 per cent compared to the previous year.

Accordingly, the prices in US have already climbed higher and the average price for November is being quoted at $449 per tonne compared to last years average price of $365 per tonne, he said. Despite the fact that the US is the largest soyabean producer in the world, it is estimated that this year’s soyabean production will fall to 96.62 million tonne compared to last year’s production of 98.87 million tonne, he said. If there is a settlement in the US-China trade war it is expected that China would resume purchases of soyabean from US, said Jethani. According to estimates by Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) this year’s estimated production in India to be 89.94 lakh tonne lower compared to last year’s production of 109.33 lakh tonne, a drop of 17.74 per cent. Also, the production per hectare this year is estimated to be at 836 kg per hectare compared to the previous year 1,009 kg per hectare, he added. Accordingly, Brazil and Argentina soyabean supplies will start to arrive in the international market from first week of January. Also, the Chinese markets will be closed as they will be celebrating their New Year during this period. The prices of soyabean are most likely to decrease from January 12, he added.