Sopa To Check Quality, Seeks Shipment Details

The Soybean Processors Association of India (Sopa) is checking the quality of soymeal exports after complaints about poor quality meal from Philippine importers, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Sopa has received complaints about soybean meal quality both from the Indian ambassador in Manila and from the Philippines Association of Feed Millers Inc, Sopa secretary Prem Agrawal said. We have asked exporters to provide details about the ships, the names of shippers, buyers and surveyors of soymeal, he added.

The Philippine government on Monday said it was investigating the quality of Indian soybean meal after complaints from feedmillers who have asked for its imports to be banned.

Many importers of Indian soya are complaining that the shipments being received are of very poor quality, the Philippine Association of Feed Millers Inc said in a letter to the government last week. It asked the Philippine government to inspect about 70,000 tonne of Indian soybean meal now being unloaded.

Soymeal exports from India have dwindled in recent months as traditional buyers such as South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand are all reeling under the region's financial crisis.

According to Sopa estimates, South East Asian countries import about 80 percent of Indian soybean meal.

Exporters said there was a problem of colour with Indian soybean meal, but they feel that it was a temporary situation. There is a problem of colour with soybean meal meant for export but it is only a one-time problem. Such soybean can be very well used for feed formulation, one exporter said.

Soymeal prices have fallen to $213-214 from $218-220 per tonne a month ago compared with $281-282 per tonne at the same time last year.

Unseasonal rains in November and December raised the moisture content in Indian soybean, affecting its quality.