India’s oilmeal exports climbed 18.41 per cent year-on-year in May 2026 to 3.73 lakh tonnes (lt), propelled by a jump in rapeseed meal shipments to Asian markets, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA). The May rebound helped offset a weak start to the fiscal year, after April 2026 oilmeal shipments fell 21.5 per cent due to lingering Red Sea shipping disruptions and high freight costs, said BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA.
May export performance
SEA reported that India exported 3.73 lt of oilmeals in May 2026 against 3.15 lt in May 2025. Rapeseed meal exports increased to 2.47 lt from 1.34 lt a year earlier. However, total oilmeal exports for the April-May 2026-27 period declined 5.37 per cent to 7.39 lt from 7.81 lt in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal.
| Product | April-May 2026-27 | April-May 2025-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Total oilmeals | 7.39 lt | 7.81 lt |
| Rapeseed meal | 4.95 lt | 3.47 lt |
| Soybean meal | 1.44 lt | 3.87 lt |
For May alone, soybean meal exports decreased to 81,629 tonnes from 1.56 lt in May 2025, while rapeseed meal exports rose to 2.47 lt from 1.34 lt. Mehta said rapeseed meal exports to Asian destinations such as China provided vital support to offset steep drops in other product categories. He attributed the positive momentum in May to a counter to the slow start to the financial year.
Soybean meal exports slump
India’s soybean meal exports declined to 1.44 lt in April-May 2026-27 from 3.87 lt in the same period of 2025-26, according to SEA. Mehta said the increase in the prices of soybean meal is eroding its competitiveness in the world market. Indian soybean meal and rapeseed meal both face aggressive pricing and intense competition from South American (Argentina and Brazil) and European suppliers, alongside shifting demand patterns in key markets such as China and South Korea.
Planting acreage and weather outlook
Mehta said soybean planted area stood at 121 lakh hectares (lh) as of August 14, marginally down from 123 lh in the same period last year. Groundnut area, however, rose slightly to 48.03 lh from 47.01 lh during the period. He said yield and production would depend on weather conditions in the coming months.
Key importer demand
China imported 2.76 lt of oilmeals from India during April-May 2026-27, up from 1.17 lt in April-May 2025-26. This included 2.73 lt of rapeseed meal, 1,616 tonnes of castor meal and 998 tonnes of soybean meal.
India exported 1.02 lt of oilmeals to Bangladesh in the first two months of 2026-27, comprising 92,985 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 8,204 tonnes of soybean meal and 911 tonnes of ricebran extraction. Vietnam took 80,231 tonnes of Indian oilmeals in April-May 2026-27 (40,040 tonnes in the year-earlier period), including 29,435 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 47,811 tonnes of ricebran extractions and 2,855 tonnes of soybean meal.
The data underline the growing importance of rapeseed meal in India’s oilmeal export basket, even as soybean meal competitiveness weakens against South American and European rivals in key destinations including China and South Korea.
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