In August, the Indian Government allowed the poultry industry to import crushed soybean meal. It has been one of the main ingredients in the poultry feed of India. The decision was made despite environmental activists raising concern that genetically modified food can enter the human food chain.
The Price Hike
The news was a relief for the poultry farmers since the feed makes 65 percent of poultry production costs. Soybean meal is considered the primary source of protein for the broilers’ feed. However, since the average cost of the feed has gone up to $1.27 per kg from $0.45 per kg to $0.48 per kg, it is unsustainable.
The Decision For Importing
The cause of the price gain in the soybean meal in India is believed to be due to the poor harvest of the crops. As a result, the poultry industry was lobbying for the import of soybean meal. The push for import was to tide over the domestic shortage of the product and bring the prices down. The other factor that led to the import and the price hike is the speculation by the harders, traders, and new players in the commodity market, who refuse to release the feed.
The lobbying worked, and on August 10, the Department of Animal Husbandry (DAHD) issued the permission to import soybean meal and oilcake from GM to the Customs department.
The decision to import fodder was to bring down the domestic feed prices, which increased by three times in the last year.
However, until October, traders could only get 650 thousand tons of soybean meal since the announcement was made in August till October 31.
The Lobbying
The poultry farmers have been lobbying to extend the import deadline from January 31 to March 31, 2022, stating that the price increase for the feed is damaging the poultry industry. In addition, since the farmers could not fulfill the feed quota, which is about 1.2 million tons, they want the extension for the import.
The reason cited by the Poultry Breeder’s Association in the failure to fulfill its feed demand is because they thought the prices would go down by November for the domestic soybean meal. However, as per experts, since the hoarding continues, the prices are going up despite there being enough crops in the market.
Refusal For Additional Import
After the initial decision to import and after the country imported the product in December for the last few months, India has stopped importing soybean meal. As a result, poultry farmers can no longer import the commodity despite the need of the livestock industry. The increase in supply will likely bring down the product’s price, which has been recorded to be at an all-time high at $1.32 per kg.
It was reported that for the 2021 summer, 1.2 million tons of GM was allowed to be imported by the Indian authority. However, now the poultry industry wants to import 550 thousand tons more for livestock, which the authorities have refused.
The reason cited for refusal is India will not be exporting the Soybean meal, and since October, there has been a report of a 50 percent decline in the export. Most of the players in the international market have outpriced India in soybean meal, so there will be enough poultry feed for the domestic market.
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