The country’s soybean imports this year are likely to touch a record high of around 1 lakh tonne and this trend is expected to continue. India produced around 83-85 lakh tonne of soybean at the end of 2017, down from more than 110 lakh tonne a year ago. According to market sources, deals have been signed to buy up to 100,000 tonne of soybean mainly from Ethiopia and Benin in Africa. India has concessional import duty agreements with these countries. Deals have been reportedly signed at $410-520 a tonne for delivery to Indian ports.