The government has approved the import of about 0.55 million tones (mt) of GM soymeal, to improve the availability of key ingredients for poultry feed.
The shipments of soymeal have to be imported before September 30, 2022. The government had earlier allowed the import of 1.2 mt of GM soymeal to bring down the higher feed prices but only around 0.6 mt could be imported due to time constraints.
Soybean Processor Association of India (SOPA) had a different view and held that the import of soymeal would be ‘counter- productive’ and would pull down the domestic price of soybean. Currently, soybean prices, are ruling at around Rs 6,800 a quintal against a minimum support price (MSP) of Rs 3,950 a quintal.
18% production of soybean is extracted as an oil and 81% is used as soymeal and the rest is production losses. Current domestic prices are significantly higher at Rs 68,000 a tonne compared with Rs 58,000 a tonne including 16% import duties of imported soymeal.
