Soyameal exports shrink to 1.73 lakh tonnes in December

14-Jan-2026 11:46 AM

Indore: The Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has estimated that India’s soyameal exports declined to 1.73 lakh tonnes in December 2025, sharply lower than 2.77 lakh tonnes shipped in December 2024. According to SOPA, India exported soyameal to 47 countries during December 2025, with the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh and Nepal emerging as the top three buyers.

This clearly indicates a shift in export dynamics. Earlier, Southeast Asia was the most important export market for Indian soyameal, with countries such as South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Singapore being major buyers.

As per SOPA’s report, domestic production of soyameal stood at 8.68 lakh tonnes in December 2024, which declined to 7.50 lakh tonnes in December 2025. However, good demand for soyameal was observed in the domestic market, especially from the poultry industry.

The association has projected that total domestic soybean production during the current 2025–26 marketing year (October–September) may decline to 105 lakh tonnes, significantly lower than 126 lakh tonnes produced in 2024–25. During the October–December 2025 quarter, total soyameal production is estimated at 23.70 lakh tonnes, compared with 24.10 lakh tonnes in the same period of 2024.

At the national level, arrivals of soybean in major mandis of key producing states were around 10 lakh tonnes in December 2025, compared with 12 lakh tonnes in December 2024. However, during the review quarter, soyameal exports declined by only 0.11 lakh tonnes, with shipments easing from 5.18 lakh tonnes in October–December 2024 to 5.07 lakh tonnes in the October–December 2025 quarter.