The poultry industry and soybean processors' association have locked horns over the poultry industry's proposal for permitting import of GM soybean meal. Soybean processors' association of India has written to ministry of Animal Husbandry requesting to reject poultry industry's soybean meal impost proposal. "The poultry industry has projected a demand of 90 lakh tons of soybean meal, which SOPA says, is not supported by facts and the inflated demand is being given only to make a case for import.

The SOPA in a letter to policy makers claimed that there would be a carryover stock of almost 20 laks tons of un crushed soybean at the end of season in September 2022. Under the circumstances, there is no justification for import of soybean meal. Higher prices of soybean and soybean meal is a realty which has to be accepted, as the farmers are not willing to sell at the prices of yesteryear.

The government has last year relaxed the rules for import of 12 lakh  tons of crushed and De oiled GM soy cake saying that the move would benefit poultry farmers and fish farmers in a big way.

Poultry industry which is giving direct or indirect employment to millions of people is struggling to get remunerative price for egg and chicken due to high input cost of raw material. Extraordinary rise in prices of maize and soy has forced poultry fraternity to demand the import of GM Soybean meal. 

Meantime National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) has also appealed to the Government of India to allot at least 2.0 million tons of damaged Wheat, Paddy and/or Broken Rice - unfit for human consumption - for use in poultry feed, as a partial substitute for maize so as to enable the farmers to tide over the unprecedented crisis caused due to acute shortage and steep increase in the price of maize and soy meal in the domestic market.