Domestic demand for soybean meal hit due to bird flu scare

The demand for soybean meal inthe animal and bird feed industry has dropped due to the avianflu outbreak reported in different parts of the country, anofficial said here on Wednesday.

The demand for domestic consumption of the protein-rich feed is likely to reduce by one lakh tonne in January,the official said.

''Industries producing animal feed in the country hadprocured 5.5 lakh tonne of soybean meal in December 2020. Wewere expecting the same amount of procurement in January too,but after bird flu, the demand has reduced,'' said Davish Jain,chairman of Indore-based Soybean Processors Association ofIndia (SOPA).

In the current scenario, the consumption of soybeanmeal in the domestic industry will be around 4.5 lakh tonne,the official said.

However, there is hope that the drop in domesticconsumption will be compensated with exports, as the demand ininternational market has increased, he said.

Maximum consumption of chicken feed made from soybeanmeal is in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, which are home to alarge number of poultry farms, Jain said.

The leftover product after extracting soyabean oil iscalled soyabean meal, which is a major source of protein.

Apart from birds and animal feed, it is also used formaking food products like soy flour and soy badi.