Oilmeal exports fall 33% in February

Oilmeal exports declined by 33 per cent to 470,000 tonnes last month from 703,000 tonnes in the year-ago period, according to the industry data released on Tuesday.

Oilmeal shipments increased nine per cent to 4.89 million tonnes (mt) in the first 11 months of this financial year from 4.49 mt in the April-February period of 2010-11, the Solvent Extractors' Associa-tion of India (SEA) said in a statement.

Exports to West Asian countries rose to 505,506 tonnes in the April-February period of 2011-12 financial year from 482,919 tonnes in the year-ago period on the back of rise in shipments to Iran, the UAE and Egypt, it added.

India’s major oilmeal — used primarily as animal feed — export destinations are Japan, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, China and Indonesia, among other South Asian and European countries.

According to the agriculture ministry’s second advance estimate, oilseed production is pegged downwards at 30.52 mt in the 2011-12 crop year (July-June) from 32.47 mt in the year-ago period.