India feed makers warn over surge in soybean meal prices
India's feed industry says a sharp rise in soybean meal prices is lifting production costs for poultry, aquaculture and livestock and is becoming a wider farm-economy risk.
The Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association of India said feed producers are increasingly concerned by a shortage of soybean meal and a rapid jump in prices for the protein-rich ingredient. According to the industry body, soybean meal prices have risen by more than 40 percent in recent weeks to about 65-66 rupees per kilogram.
CLFMA said the increase is pushing up feed production costs and affecting farmers across India's animal protein chain. The group argued that supply constraints and price inflation are putting heavy pressure on both feed manufacturers and farm businesses, while also threatening the competitiveness and sustainability of the wider sector.
The association said the stress is especially visible in aquaculture, where feed represents roughly 50-60 percent of production costs. As India tries to strengthen its role in global seafood trade, the availability of affordable and high-quality feed ingredients is becoming a strategic issue rather than only a procurement problem for mills.
CLFMA chairperson Divya Kumar Gulati said India's poultry, aquaculture and livestock sectors are critical for food security, rural livelihoods and exports. He linked the issue to the government's seafood ambitions, noting that Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal recently said India could raise seafood exports to 30 billion dollars over the next five years, almost 2.5 times current levels, which would require a resilient feed ecosystem.
To address the problem, CLFMA called for government action to maintain balanced soybean meal availability for domestic feed manufacturing while also safeguarding soybean growers. The association also proposed stronger investment in soybean processing and value-chain infrastructure, closer coordination among policymakers, farmer groups, processors and feed makers, and monitoring systems for availability and price volatility so that further supply disruptions can be contained.