USSEC continues to build its presence in the Indian soybean market and industry.  USSEC International Director – Program Strategy / ASC & India Regional Director Drew Klein, along with USSEC India consultants, visited three Indian cities on a weeklong trip designed to interact with key soy stakeholders in the Indian industry.  The trip originated in the southern city of Bangalore, then continued onto Indore in central India and ended in New Delhi.  Indore is a major soy commercial center for the majority of soy crushers and Bangalore is the home to numerous animal feed and human food businesses.

The visits broadly covered three soy related sectors:  the feed, food and crushing industries.  During the trip, the USSEC team participated in VIV India 2014, south India’s annual animal feed expo held in Bangalore.  Participants included India’s largest poultry feed mill belonging to the Suguna Group, ITC, a major Indian corporation involved in human food applications; Godrej Agrovet Ltd, a corporation involved in sizeable animal feed milling and human food products; Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd, the largest poultry breeding/feed company; and CLFMA (Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association of India), among others.  The total feed milling potential attached to these organizations was 4.1 million metric tons (MMT), translating to a soy utilization volume of 1 MMT.
In central India, Dr. Klein and the USSEC team held a “Soy Trade Meet,” comprised of soy crushers and traders engaged in marketing meal to the domestic feed and food sectors as well as exports.  The trade meet helped facilitate discussions on diverse topics of soy applications and the crushers verified the growing potential for soy utilization in India.  These key members of the Indian crushing industry represented over 60% of the crush capacity in India.  The team visited the facility of a major soy crusher, the Ruchi Group, which is engaged in the manufacture of human food products such as soy nuggets and soy dal.  They also visited the grain market where Indian soy farmers bring their produce for auction.  The soy crushing industry at the trade meet represented an installed crushing volume of 8.48 MMT and on an actual basis, would crush about 3.4 MMT of soybeans annually.  Indian soy crushing operates at about 40% of the total installed capacity.
The group’s final stop was New Delhi where they met with Foreign Agricultural Minister – Counselor Allan Mustard and his team.  Discussions centered on the implications and processes that would unfold with the direction of a new Indian government after upcoming elections and about USSEC’s general activities in India.  The visit wrapped up with a meeting with ADM’s managing director Martin Kropp and his team.  ADM India is exploring opportunities on the continuing integration of the feed and food sectors in India with USSEC’s help as they continue to see positive signs for further investments.