Oilmeal exports show sharp decline; economic slowdown visible

The effects of a slow economic growth and industrial activity may just have started to show its impact on a few select industries. The recently published data from Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) suggested a sharp drop in the export and import numbers for one-year period ended February 2020.

SEA in its latest report based on the provisional data has suggested that oilmeal exports of India decreased sharply by 74 per cent to 76,017 tonnes for February 2020 against 2,94,510 tonnes in the same month last year. This was the lowest level so far. For this fiscal (till February 2020), exports have dropped 25 per cent already.

As per the report, the fall in the shipment is mainly due to a better price realisation for oilmeals in the domestic market as compared to the export realisation, coupled with increased domestic consumption.

The decline in export was specific in region such as Iran, Vietnam and Thailand as against growth in US and South Korea, as these two registered a growth of 72 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively while, there was drop of 53 per cent, 27 per cent and 72 per cent in Vietnam, Thailand and Iran, respectively.