Soybean Oct futures closed higher yesterday, its third consecutive day rise on reports of lower than expected production in new season due to lower acreage and irregular rains. India`s soybean production during the 2017/2018 crop year may drop 22% from a year ago after a reduction in the planting area and because of a prolonged dry spell in key growing regions. The total area under soybean has declined this year due to a fall in acreage in Madhya Pradesh, the largest producer, because of poor rains in the state so far.

India’s mustard meal exports for the month of July also rose 56.4% on year to 50,649 Tonnes as per SEA data. As per SEA recent data, mustard oil imports for period Nov-July down 23% to 1.94 lt in current oil year compared to 2.55 lt in the previous year. As per data compiled by Mustard Oil Producers Association of India, Oil mills across the country crushed 450,000 tn of mustard seed in August, down over 18% from the previous month.

Moreover, recently soy oil the prices have been supported by weak rupees and increase in import tax coupled with higher tariff value for the crude soy oil for the first half of September by government. The government raised the base import price of crude soyoil by $17/tonnes to $835/tonnes according to a notification from the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Recently, Ministry of Commerce raised import duty on crude and refined oil to 15% and 25 % from 7.5% and 15% earlier.

According to SEA release, during November-August period, crude palm oil import increased to 50.82 Lakh Tonnes from 46.70 lakh tonnes during the same period of the previous oil year.

The US production to rose 1.21 million Bales to 21.76 bales in 2017. Projections for world ending stocks for the 2017/18 crop year were at 92.5 million bales, 3 million above their 2016/17 level. US new crop ending stocks rose 0.2 million bales to 6 million bales. World ending stocks for 2017/18 jumped 2.45 million bales to 92.54 million bales.