Soybean output in India is likely to increase around 20% to over 10 million tonnes (MT) in the 2018-2019 crop year (which starts in October). The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India’s (SEA) executive director B.V. Mehta has said that they are looking at higher acreage and satisfactory rain so far in major soybean growing areas such as Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Mehta further said that India would likely churn out 8.3 MT of soybeans in the 2017-2018 crop year that ends on September 30, 2018. Higher production in the world's top importer of edible oils could curb its appetite for cargoes from overseas, potentially dragging on international soybean prices.
As per the government’s data, the amount of land in India planted with soybeans for the 2018-2019 crop year had risen to 11.1 million hectares as of August 10, up from 10.2 million hectares at the same time the previous year. However, monsoon rains are likely to be below average in 2018, after some parts of the country experienced tepid rainfall during the first-half of the season.