El Niño may Lower Soybean and Rapeseed Output in India in 2023/24

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) in its report earlier this month said the effects of the El Niño weather phenomenon could lower Indian soybean and rapeseed production in marketing year 2023/24.  It said soybean and rapeseed could be reduced to 11.9 million MT from 12.4 million MT and 11.2 million MT from 11.8 million MT, respectively, in the current marketing year 2022/23.

However, the forecast for soybean planted area was slightly higher than the previous year at 13.1 million hectares due to favorable domestic prices and return on investment for soybean planting, the USDA said in its India: Oilseeds and Products Update.  In addition, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on March 08 between the Indian Oilseeds & Produce Export Promotion Council (IOPEPC) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to increase oilseed production in India could have potential impact on the sector, the USDA said.