India’s oilseed production in 2019/20 is forecast to rise by 8% over the previous year, assuming normal weather conditions, a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report said on 19 April.
The GAIN report said that the rise in supply would increase oilseed meal production by 5.5%, reaching 18M tonnes, leaving some 3M tonnes for export sales after accounting for local consumption.
The USDA had attributed the increasing oilseed meal production to a “rise in demand for animal feed matched by an anticipated rise in oilseed supply”.
“Assuming normal market conditions and competitive pricing, total oil meal exports should rise 10% to 3.2M tonnes,” World Grain quoted the USDA as saying.
The USDA noted that India’s agricultural policy leaders would need to focus on ways to address the country’s growing demand for vegetable oils.
“At the same time, India needs research and development efforts to improve domestic oilseed productivity, which will reduce the amount of foreign exchange used for imports,” the USDA said.
