India has significantly strengthened its position in the Chinese animal feed market, with oil meal exports to China surging nearly 900% over the past decade, highlighting the growing importance of India as a reliable supplier of feed ingredients to the world’s second-largest economy.
Industry data show that rising demand from China for protein-rich feed materials, particularly soybean meal and rapeseed meal, has driven a sharp increase in imports from India. The growth reflects changing trade dynamics, expanding feed requirements in China’s livestock and aquaculture sectors, and the competitiveness of Indian oil meal in international markets.
Exporters said China’s efforts to diversify sourcing destinations and ensure stable supplies of feed ingredients have created new opportunities for Indian suppliers. Improved quality standards, competitive pricing and expanding production capacities have helped Indian oil meal gain greater acceptance among Chinese buyers.
The steady increase in shipments has also provided a boost to India’s oilseed processing industry, encouraging higher value addition and strengthening demand for domestically produced oilseeds. Industry stakeholders believe the trend could support better price realization for farmers while enhancing export earnings for processors and traders.
China remains one of the world’s largest consumers of animal feed due to its vast poultry, livestock and aquaculture industries. Growing demand for protein meals used in feed formulations has encouraged importers to expand procurement from multiple origins, including India.
Trade experts noted that the strong growth in exports demonstrates the increasing integration of India into global agricultural supply chains. They added that continued investments in processing infrastructure, quality assurance, traceability and logistics would be essential to sustain momentum and capture a larger share of the Chinese market.
The expansion of oil meal exports also aligns with India’s broader strategy of increasing agricultural exports and diversifying overseas markets. Industry bodies expect demand from China to remain robust in the coming years, supported by rising feed consumption and the need for dependable supply sources.
With exports continuing to grow, India is well positioned to further strengthen its role as a major supplier of oil meal to China while creating new opportunities for farmers, processors and exporters across the agricultural value chain.
