Poultry feed producers such as Godrej Agrovet and IB Group have reduced prices following the government’s recent action to allow more soyabean meal imports. Other feed producers are likely to follow the action. Soyabean meal is a crucial ingredient in the poultry feed along with maize. Feed prices had been on an upraising over the past several quarters, on the uptrend in soyameal and maize prices, harming poultry farmers.
Godrej Agrovet has shortened feed prices by about ₹2,000-2,500 per tonne across various regions and depending on the proportion of soyameal used, said Sandeep Singh, CEO of the company’s Animal Feed business. The feed prices are directly linked to the grounded cost of soyabean and maize and the feed industry leans to pass it on to the farmers clearly, he added.
In States such as Bihar and West Bengal, where the new maize crop has hit the markets, Godrej has dropped feed prices three times over the last couple of weeks, Singh said. Soyameal prices have come down by ₹4,000-5,000 and are currently pricing at ₹52,500-53,500 on an ex-factory basis in Indore, since the government allowed further imports in late April.
Sandeep Singh said that, While a uptrend in soyameal and maize prices had resulted in higher feed prices over the past two years, the feed producers have also seen prices of premixes, minerals and amino acids that go into the compound feed go up by 20-25%. The proportion of soyameal varies 15-35% in the meal depending on the category and the innovation done by the companies in formulation of the feed.
