India’s 2020 soybean output could jump 32% on higher acreage – trade body

India’s soybean production could jump by 32% in 2020 to 12.25 million tonnes from a year earlier due to higher area under the oilseed and as the yields are expected to rise on ample monsoon rainfall, a leading trade body said on Friday.

Increased production of India’s main summer-sown oilseed could help the world’s biggest vegetable oil importer trim costly purchases of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil from Indonesia, Malaysia, Argentina and Ukraine.

It could also revive Indian exports of animal feed ingredient soymeal to places such as Bangladesh, Japan, Vietnam and Iran.

Area under soybean has risen to 11.64 million hectares in 2020 from 10.76 million hectares a year ago, the Soybean Processors Association of India.

The crop is in good condition in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan, which account for more than 90% of the country’s total production, the trade body said.

Soybean yields are expected to jump by 22% to 1,052 kilograms per hectare from a year ago, it said.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)