USSEC India recently participated in a Foreign Agricultural Services (FAS) / U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cooperators meeting led by the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services Michael Scuse, and Scott Sindelar, Minister-Councilor FAS in New Delhi.
Representing USSEC, Dr. Ratan Sharma, USSEC Director – Soy Food Program, India, discussed the current soybean situation in India, the drastic decline in soybean meal export from India, and the increasing domestic consumption of soy food and feed uses. He reported on the first-ever open discussion in a half-day session organized by the Soy Oil Processors Association of India (SOPA) that discussed the possibilities of adopting GM practices for soybeans in India, during SOPA’s oilseed convention in Nagpur in the last week of September.
Other discussions during the meeting included USSEC’s efforts to enhance soybean and soymeal imports from the U.S. to the ASC region with an increased U.S. share; U.S. beans being crushed for oil and meals in the region for local consumption; and U.S. food bean and soy oil opportunities in India.