Indian soybean officials talk about American agricultural law and Indian soybean industry

Introduction: Singapore, June 19: senior officials of Indian soybean industry said in an interview with Oster Dow Jones on Tuesday night that India should establish more trade barriers to protect Indian soybean farmers from the impact of the sharp fluctuations in world soybean prices O.P goel, chairman of the Indian Soybean Processing Association (SopA), based in Madhya Pradesh, said that farmers should be protected from shocks, especially when price fluctuations are caused by supply Goel's remarks are in response to the US agriculture bill recently signed by US President George W Bush Goel said the U.S farm bill would provide huge subsidies to U.S soybean farmers, which would stimulate the growth of global soybean production and lead to the decline of soybean prices in the global market As the farmers in India are not as advanced as those in developed countries, there is a greater need for measures to protect them As a result, he said, higher import tariffs and other non-tariff barriers are needed to protect Indian farmers from price fluctuations caused by the growth of world soybean production SopA is a national organization in India to protect the interests of soybean processors, farmers and exporters Madhya Pradesh is the main soybean producing area in India Goel said the smooth passage of the new U.S agriculture bill will have a great impact on developing countries Indian farmers will not be the only victims of the U.S farm bill, and farmers in all developing countries will be affected If soybean prices fall around the world, developing countries will bear the brunt, and the income of farmers here will be further reduced He believes that the global soybean price decline will be a direct result of the implementation of US agricultural subsidies in 2004 The bill will provide up to $180 billion in subsidies to American farmers over the next six years As for soybeans, the US government will provide a direct subsidy of US $0.44 per bushel of soybeans produced in the US The new farm bill also sets a target price of $5.80 per bushel for soybeans Once the total market price of soybeans and the direct subsidy to soybean farmers are lower than the target price, the U.S government will distribute the difference to American farmers in the form of subsidy The U.S farm bill stimulates global soybean production growth and puts pressure on soybean prices American farmers will continue to produce soybeans so that they can benefit from government subsidies If they can get more subsidies, they will increase soybean production Other market participants said a reduction in the US soybean loan rate to $5 per bushel would be good news for the soybean market as it would encourage us farmers to switch to other food crops But goel disagrees, arguing that soybean oil prices are very attractive, which would prevent us farmers from switching to other crops The increase in soybean production of major U.S competitors will also aggravate the problem of production growth Brazil is the second largest soybean producer after the United States, and its soybean production is expected to continue to grow Goel believes that there are still 90 million hectares of land abandoned in the United States He believes that the current stable world soybean price will make these abandoned land gradually planted with soybeans in the next few years Soybean production in the United States is about 78 million tons per year, followed by Brazil and Argentina by about 42 million and 30 million tons China's soybean production is about 16 million tons, while India's annual soybean production is about 5.5 million tons At present, the price of soybean in the international market is about 200 US dollars per ton, FOB The wholesale price of soybeans in Indore City, Madhya Pradesh, India is about 13500 rupees per ton or 275 US dollars per ton The problem plagued India's domestic soybean industry, goel, who said India's agricultural subsidy system had changed India provides very small price subsidies for the vast majority of agricultural products, including the use of food, sugar, cotton and oilseeds The total subsidy amount for the current fiscal year ending March 31, 2003 is expected to reach 212 billion rupees, 1 US dollar is about 48.97 rupees 70% of India's population is located in rural areas, so the first issue for Indian farmers is livelihood and access to adequate food He said that before Indian farmers have the same high productivity as farmers in developed countries, some specific problems need to be solved These problems include that Indian farmers do not master the correct agricultural methods and lack of high-quality seeds The area of land irrigated by rainwater has reached 65% - 75%, which means that Indian farmers have to rely on the sky for food And it's not easy for farmers to get credit support Goel said that from a private point of view, he advocated a big change in subsidies for farmers Subsidies to farmers should be used to teach them to use the latest agricultural technology and correct improper production methods Only in this way can the income of farmers be raised continuously In rural areas, government subsidies do not help Farmers usually need to borrow money if they need cash Goel Said the government must encourage private sector participation in improving technology and information flow These measures will help to improve India's industry standards, which are now far behind the level of developed countries in the world