Soya body asks oil firms to cut input price

Indore-based Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has asked for a revision in the prices of food-grade hexane produced by oil companies.

Recently, an upward revision in hexane prices by oil companies has posed problems for the soya industry.

"Oil companies, which are major suppliers of hexane, have revised their prices. Such a step will put the soyabean farmers as well as the soya-processing industry at a disadvantage and negate the advantages that the Union finance minister has sought to provide to the industry," said Rajesh Agrawal, chairman of the association.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the Budget for this year had proposed a cut in the excise duty on food-grade hexane from 32 per cent to 16 cent.

"This will also have a negative effect on the prices soyabean farmers get for their produce," Agrawal said.

In letters to Union Petroleum Minister Mani Shanker Aiyar, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath, and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, the association has said the oil companies should keep food-grade hexane out of the purview of such increases so that exporting larger quantities of the product becomes easier.

The Soyabean Processors Association of India is the apex organisation in the field. It has a membership of over 500 across the country.

The solvent extraction industry, which is agro-based and export-oriented, exports soyabean meal/DOC. During the current season, the industry earned more than Rs 3,500 crore through exports of soyabean meal.

The industry produces annually Rs 3,500-crore soyabean oil, which is an import substitute.

The sowing season has started and the area under the crop has increased to 74.5 lakh hectares, against 64.5 lakh hectares last year.