NEW DELHI, INDIA — Record soybean production is forecast in the 2024-25 marketing year in India due to a favorable monsoon and normal weather conditions, according to a report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the US Department of Agriculture.

The FAS raised its production outlook slightly from the previous forecast to 12.8 million tonnes, 100,000 tonnes higher than last year’s record total.

“The early monsoon supported soybean sowing and an increase in the planting area by almost 1% for 2024-25, compared to 2023-24,” said the FAS, adding that yields were also forecast slightly higher at 0.98 tonnes per hectare.

The report also noted that soybean crushing continues to increase. In 2023-24, crushing increased by 12% year on year to 12.6 million tonnes, and it is expected to rise to 12.7 million tonnes this year, driven by strong export demand for soybean meal. The FAS revised its soymeal production estimate for India by 6% from earlier this year to 9.36 million tonnes.

Soybean oil production was revised significantly higher from the FAS’s forecast earlier this year, rising 11% from 1.98 million tonnes to 2.2 million “as strong domestic demand for vegetable oil is expected to raise the crush-to-oil availability.”