Castor oil export gets boost from strong crude oil

Tag : Castor Derivatives

Mumbai, Jun 24 With the rising prices of crude oil globally and depreciatingrupee value against the US dollar, castor oil export from thecountry is expected to rise to 1.95 lakh tonne for the currentseason 2007-08 (November/October) thanks to good demand from Chinaand Europe.
Till May 2008, total exports reached to nearly 1.40 lakh tonne, upby nearly 26% over the same period last season.
With strong crude oil and higher Tung oil prices in China, majorimporters have shifted their interest towards castor oil.
Depreciating rupee against dollar has also helped exporters toboost their export, market sources said. Rupee against dollar hasso far depreciated by 10% in 2008.
Castor oil demand will continue to increase in the next few monthsas castor oil is the substitute of petroleum products. Crude oilprices are ruling higher that will help castor oil. Domestic demandfor castor oil is also rising with good local buying, WamanUdeshi, director of Jayant Agro-Organics told FE.
Castor oil shipments to China are expected to be around 8,500 tonnethis month.
Castor oil prices are currently ruling around $1,450 per tonnewhile tung oil prices are quoting at $2,100 tonne, sources said.Apart from castor oil, the country also exports castor oilderivatives to Japan, Europe and the US.
It can be noted that India is the largest producer of castorseedwith a market share of about 65% in world production. India hasproduced bout 9.10 lakh tonne during season 2007-08, up by 16% fromthe previous season, according to Solvent Extractors Associationof India.