Govt Allows Import of 1.2 MT of Soymeal; Poultry Stocks Shoot up

The government allowed the import of 12 million tones of Genetically Modified soymeal till 31^st October to start supply in domestic markets, the directorate General of Foreign Trade said in a notification.

Centre on Tuesday relaxed norms to allow import of 12 lakh tonnes of deoiled and crushed genetically modified (GM) soybean as poultry feed with the environment ministry (MoEF) showing green flag as there is no concern from the environmental angle as it does not contain any living organism.

The relaxation of the import norms will benefit poultry farmer and fishermen who have been badly affected after soyameal prices surged across the country. The imports will be allowed till October 31.

The imports will be allowed through the Nhava Sheva Port in Mumbai and the peptrapole land customs station in West Bengal. The ministry said these imports would be strictly monitored in order to ensure that the quantity cap of 1.2 million tones is not breached.

The poultry industry has been leading the demand to allow import of GM Soyameal, stating that soymeal prices have topped Rs 1 lakh a tonne. Prices of soyameal surged as soyabean prices increased in line with the global trend in view of Soyabean crop in South America being affected due to draught like conditions.

Currently soya bean is quoted at Rs 97500 per tonne in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, the hub of soyabean industry while soyameal Rs 87000. Prices of both have tended to ease of late on reports of the centre allowing imports of GM Soyameal, besides the pending arrival of the new soyabean crop.

Effect on the Poultry Stocks:

The effect of the government’s decision has affected the stock market today; The poultry stock show rising trend. The best poultry stocks include: Venky’s, Apex frozen foods and Avanti feeds. According to experts, some of the poultry stocks may further go upwards as this decision is going to dilute the demand – supply constraint in poultry industry in company’s favour.