M Around 11,000 metric tonnes of
Niger-origin soybeans bound for India were diverted to other
Asian markets and sold at steep discounts as a widening customs
probe into suspected import tax evasion deterred Indian buyers,
four trade sources said on Thursday.
After being diverted at sea, the soybeans were sold to
buyers in Vietnam, Indonesia and Bangladesh at prices between
$470 and $510 per tonne, compared with more than $650 per tonne
agreed by Indian buyers, who refused to take delivery after
customs authorities stepped up scrutiny, the sources said.
Indian customs authorities are investigating a surge in
soybean imports declared as originating in Niger, suspecting
the cargoes came from Nigeria and were mislabelled to evade
import tariffs, Reuters reported this month.
India allows duty-free imports from countries categorised as
least-developed, such as Niger. India, the world’s fifth-largest
soybean producer, imported a record 1 million metric tonnes of
soybeans this year after a poor harvest.
Authorities are seeking more documents to verify the
soybeans’ origin for duty-free entry, requiring importers to pay
duties if they cannot prove the shipments originated in Niger.
Buyers are reluctant to take delivery because they fear the
documents provided by sellers will not be sufficient to prove
the soybeans’ origin and they will be forced to pay the
45% duty, traders said.
Indian customs authorities did not immediately respond
to a request for comment. Niger’s Chamber of Commerce and
Industry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
STRANDED AT PORTS
Around 60 containers of soybeans, or 1,500 tonnes, are still
stranded at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) near Mumbai after
customs authorities stepped up scrutiny of imports declared as
originating in Niger, following an internal alert issued to
customs officials last month, as reported by Reuters.
Container freight rates have risen sharply in recent months
due to the Iran war, and sellers are keen to avoid shipments
getting stranded at ports, where they could incur hefty
demurrage charges, the sources said.
India permits imports only of non-genetically modified (GM)
soybeans, limiting supplies to a handful of African countries,
including Benin, Nigeria, Togo and Niger, where non-GM beans
command a steep premium over lab-altered varieties.
African sellers are diverting shipments to other Asian
markets, where buyers typically purchase GM soybeans, forcing
sellers to offer the non-GM beans at discounts to match GM
soybean prices, said an official with an oil miller based in Ho
Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
He and other trade officials declined to be named because
they were not authorised to speak to the media under their
companies’ policies.
Niger-origin soybeans were sold for as little as $470 per
ton, compared with more than $650 agreed by Indian buyers, as
sellers sought to limit losses rather than pay the import tax
required for Indian customs clearance, the sources said.
India’s soybean imports declared as originating in Niger
rose to 404,429 tonnes in the first eight months of 2026 from
zero, trade ministry data showed, even though Niger produces no
significant quantity of the oilseed.