Oilmeal exports rise by 20% in April

Country had exported 1,97,554 tonnes of oilmeal in the same period last year

India's oilmeal exports rose by 20% to 2,36,835 tonnes in April of this year, on account of sharp increase in shipments of rapeseed meal to South Korea and Thailand, industry body SEA said today.

The country had exported 1,97,554 tonnes of oilmeal, used as animal feed, in the same period last year.

"The overall export of oilmeals during April was up by 20%, thanks to substantial export of rapeseed meal to South Korea and Thailand," Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) said in a statement.

Rapeseed meal exports rose to 1,25,872 tonnes in April this year from 54,077 tonnes in the year-ago period. Of this, 35,185 tonnes of rapeseed meal were exported to South Korea and 41,800 tonnes to Thailand in April this year, it said.

However, export of soybean meal fell drastically to 89,883 tonnes from 99,451 tonnes in the review period because of high soybean prices, it added.

According to the SEA data, the shipment of castorseed meal also fell to 20,378 tonnes from 32,640 tonnes, while the export of rice bran extraction declined to 600 tonnes from 11,255 tonnes in the review period.

Barring Thailand, Taiwan and Europe, oilmeal exports to South Korea, Iran, Vietnam and Indonesia showed a decline in April this year.

Maximum oilmeal was exported to Iran (57,780 tonnes), followed by South Korea (52,151 tonnes) and Thailand (42,550 tonnes) during last month.