The Gujarat earthquake, which has killed up to 20,000 people, has halted the country's exports of soyameal due to serious damage at the busiest port of Kandla and to other transport networks, traders said on Monday. Despite a report from on Sunday that Kandla had resumed operations, traders said the quake had caused major difficulties in executing existing contracts to ship soyameal to other Asian countries. No new offers for soyameal have been seen since the earthquake hit Gujarat early on Friday. People focus on execution for now, not new business the Port of Kandla is severely damaged and the supply was cut.
Transportation is a problem.
Traders said information was sketchy and it was unclear if ships could go to other ports for loading. Some traders said vessels were lining up at India ports, including Kandla, to carry a total of about 180,000 tonnes of soyameal to countries, such as South Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. Malaysia has not bought Indian meal for some time. Traders have said India has outpriced itself in the soyameal market, with most Asian buyers, including South Korea, looking to switch to South America as early as possible, especially in view of record crops expected in Brazil and Argentina. The bean delivery at the local market is extremely slow.