India's waning soybean acreage

SOYBEAN acreage in India is likely to fall this year as corn and sugar cane could replace it in some areas after these crops gave higher returns to farmers than the oilseed, farmers and industry officials said.

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Soybean is India's main summer-sown oilseed crop and lower output will force the world's biggest importer of edible oils to increase overseas buying of palm oil, soyoil and sunflower oil.

"We've barely made any profit from soybean over the past three years, so this year we're switching to corn - it's giving better returns," said Subodh Parmar, a farmer in Devas in Madhya Pradesh state.