Indian farmers will be affected by soybean imports from the US

27-Oct-2025 01:15 PM

Indore. India's approximately 4 million soybean farmers are already facing numerous challenges and difficulties. Sometimes, adverse weather conditions destroy their crops, and sometimes, market prices plummet.

Input costs are also rapidly increasing. Soybean production in India meets domestic demand and needs, and there is very little need for imports from abroad. India produces only non-GM soybeans.

However, in the context of bilateral trade negotiations, the US is putting tremendous pressure on India to import large quantities of its soybeans.

Although the Indian government is currently unwilling to accept this pressure, if it is allowed sooner or later, the already struggling Indian farmers will face further hardship.

One commentator has suggested that India and the US could enter into a soybean agreement that benefits both countries.

This would provide the US with a market for its surplus soybean stocks and India with an opportunity to reduce its dependence on edible oil imports.

This suggestion may be good in theory, but the possibility of it creating numerous commercial difficulties cannot be ruled out.

China adopted such a policy about 20 years ago and today remains the world's largest importer of soybeans, importing between 90-100 million tons of this oilseed annually.

India is striving to achieve self-sufficiency in edible oilseeds from indigenous sources. If imports of cheap GM oilseeds are allowed instead of edible oil, Indian farmers will suffer huge losses and may lose interest in soybean cultivation due to lack of attractive or profitable prices.

In the 2025 Kharif season, a significant decline in soybean production area was recorded in the three major producing states—Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan.