Farmers in the country have sown soybean across 53,400 ha as, down 57% from the year-ago period.

Absence of monsoon rains has halted sowing operations in key growing areas of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the top growers.

The government has recommended that farmers wait for adequate monsoon rains and start sowing if rain water reaches 4 inches in the soil.

Sowing has been kicked off in Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, and some minor growing states.

Soybean futures settled 5 to 6 1/4 cents higher.

Nearby soymeal was up $2/ton, with bean oil down 9 points.

A total of 682,155 MT of US soybeans were exported in the week that ended 6/20.

Those inspections were slightly higher than the week prior and 32.02% larger than the same week in 2018. Of that total, 529,638 MT (77.64%) were headed to China.

Trade ideas for soybean planting progress were in the 86-89% range. USDA calculated 85% of intended acreage planted. The 5-year average is 97% for this date.

The initial crop condition ratings showed 54% good or excellent, with the Brugler500 index (which weights all five condition categories) at 349. That was the lowest for this week since 2012.