India has increased soyabean imports after a surge in local soyabean meal prices due to concerns over a weak monsoon impacting the upcoming domestic crop, according to a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) report.
Imported soyabeans were being used for crushing to support domestic consumption of soyabean meal for animal feed and vegetable oil for human consumption, the USDA’s June “Oilseeds: World Markets and Trade” report said.
In the report, the USDA increased its forecast for India’s 2025/26 imports of soyabeans by 500,000 tonnes to 700,000 tonnes.
In 2025/26, India had a smaller soyabean crop, and soyabean meal reached an almost 60% premium compared to US origin prices for the oilseed, the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) report said.
In the previous year, India imported negligible quantities of soyabeans following a record soyabean crop and substantial use of dried distillers grains (DDGs) in feed rations.
“The implementation of India’s expanded ethanol mandate and record soyabean production provided ample protein sources for feed rations, with soyabean imports not needed,” the USDA said.
India does not purchase substantial volumes of soyabeans from the world's major exporters (USA, Brazil and Argentina) due to import restrictions on genetically engineered (GE) soyabeans and soyabean meal, according to the report.
As a result, Sub-Saharan Africa was India’s primary soyabean supplier, with Niger, Togo and Nigeria the most prominent in recent years.
India’s primary soyabean crop was planted in June and imports of African soyabeans were likely to continue until harvest, the report said.
In 2026/27, Indian soyabean production was expected to increase with soyabean imports forecast to fall to 200,000 tonnes.
