{
  "id": 7823093,
  "title": "India’s soybean imports may touch record high 1 mt in the current season on fall in domestic supply",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/indias-soybean-imports-may-touch-record-high-1-mt-in-the-current",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-09-16T16:09:48.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindu BusinessLine",
    "slug": "hindu-businessline",
    "url": "https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/indias-soybean-imports-may-touch-record-high-1-mt-in-the-current-season-on-fall-in-domestic-supply/article71473116.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "India's soybean imports for the oil year 2025-26 are projected to reach an all-time high of around 1 million tonnes, primarily due to a significant shortfall in domestic supplies. This comes after the previous year saw imports of just 0.02 lakh tonnes. The shortfall is attributed to poor monsoon rains affecting the kharif 2026 crop, which has experienced a dip in planted area. According to the Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA), imports for the October-August period of the current oil year are estimated at 9.34 lakh tonnes, with total imports likely to surpass 9.5 lakh tonnes including September purchases. This surpasses the previous high of 7 lakh tonnes during the 2022-23 oil year. India, which was a soybean exporter until 2017-18, has since become a net importer, with imports rising up to 2022-23. Imports primarily come from Sub-Saharan African countries like Niger, Togo, and Nigeria, where non-GM varieties are grown. The Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA) had estimated a production of 110.26 lakh tonnes for the 2025-26 crop, which is 14% lower than the previous year's 128.82 lakh tonnes due to reduced area and weather impact. The crushing for the oil year is projected at 104.50 lakh tonnes, down from 113.50 lakh tonnes in the previous year. Consequently, soybean meal production is expected to be lower at 82.46 lakh tonnes compared to the previous year's 89.56 lakh tonnes. Consumption by the feed sector is slightly higher at 63 lakh tonnes, while the food sector's off-take is estimated at 9 lakh tonnes. Soybean imports have halved to 10 lakh tonnes from the previous year's 20.23 lakh tonnes due to lack of price parity. Insufficient rains in key growing regions of Maharashtra and Karnataka have negatively impacted the crop size. The USDA Post has revised India's 2026-27 soybean acreage and production estimates downwards due to erratic monsoon rains and farmer diversion towards cotton and corn.",
  "summary": "Trend in imports likely to sustain next year on anticipated drop in output impacted by lower area, weak monsoons",
  "key_points": [
    "India's soybean imports projected to hit 1 million tonnes in 2025-26 season.",
    "Domestic supply shortfall due to poor monsoon affecting kharif 2026 crop.",
    "Imports primarily from Sub-Saharan African countries like Niger, Togo, Nigeria."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}