NEW DELHI. The Indian poultry sector, now an integral part of agriculture, has played a crucial role in meeting protein and nutritional needs of the large population. While the production of crops has been rising at a rate of 1.5% to 2% annually that of eggs and broilers has been rising at a rate of 6 to 9% per annum. According to the department of Animal Husbandry, Government of India, the poultry sector in India has witnessed a remarkable growth, with chicken meat growing at an annual growth rate of 8% to 9% in the last 8-10 years. The growth in eggs rose by 6% to 7% annually during the same period. Over the past two decades, it has evolved into a mega-industry, positioning India as a major global producer of eggs and broiler meat.
The government has been providing support in terms of providing financial incentives as well as taking steps in disease surveillance and curbing outbreak amongst the poultry birds. Poultry Industry and the Government have been working in close coordination to address the issues in this sector. Under the National Livestock Mission, for the first time, the Central Government is providing subsidies to the individuals, shelf-help groups, farmer producers organisations (FPOs) etc., to establish poultry farms with hatcheries. The financial and technological assistance under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (Rs. 15,000 crores have been allocated since 2022) is provided for poultry farms, layer farms with environmentally controlled systems, broiler breeder farm, meat processing and value addition infrastructure, establishment of poultry feed plant. Close to 30 lakh farmers associated with Animal Husbandry and dairy have been provided with Kisan Credit Card facilities for meeting working capital requirements as done for crop growers.
Rising Poultry Feed Demand
Demand for the poultry feed in the country has been rising at around 8-10% annually over the last decade. Feed which constitutes around 65%-70% of the cost of the production consists of mostly maize and soybean meal (SBM). At present 60% of maize production in India is used as feed, with 47% of maize production going towards poultry and 13% for cattle feed. However, the rate of growth in poultry meat and chicken production has surpassed the growth in maize and soybean output. To protect the interest of the domestic producers, the major national and regional poultry associations has asked the government to allow imports of GM Maize and Soybean because of ‘unprecedented increase’ in feed prices.
In August, 2021, the government had relaxed import rules to allow the first shipment of 1.2 million tonne (MT) of GM soybean meal to support the domestic poultry industry after a record spike in feed prices. Major Poultry Associations have written to the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Government of India to allow duty-free maize imports so as to enable the poultry industry to meet its future requirements. The current basic import duty on maize stands at 50%. Citing concerns over the rising maize consumption in ethanol production, India’s 34.60 million tonne (MT) of annual maize production is insufficient to meet the requirements of the poultry industry as well as nation’s food security.
Initiatives to boost the export Start
In the fiscal year 2022-23, India exported a notable 664,753.46 metric tons of poultry products, with a total worth of Rs. 1,081.62 crores ($134.04 million) to 64 countries. However, the current share in India’s global poultry trade has to increase from the current level of only 1.2% to at least 10% in the next two decades. Currently India’s primary exports are eggs and egg powder while a very small quantity of poultry meat is also exported to neighbouring countries. In the next decades, the country should focus on exporting more value-added products such as liquid eggs, egg chips, ready to cook and ready to eat products. This requires achieving higher meat production, consumption and adequate feed along with setting a target to increase processing to at least 20-30% in the poultry sector. The country should emerge as a hub of exporters of high-quality, safe and sustainable poultry products.
The Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying has been taking various initiatives to boost the export. The Department has recently submitted a self-declaration of freedom from High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza. To promote export, the Department has recognized 26 poultry compartments as free from Avian Influenza. On October 13, 2023, on World Egg Day, the self-declaration was approved by World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). The government has stated in favour of promotion of poultry exports, strengthening the Indian poultry sector, improving the ease of doing business, addressing challenges in poultry product exports, and strategizing the integration of units in the informal sector and further cementing poultry sectors position on the world stage. As foreign direct investment is allowed in the food processing sector including poultry sector, there is a huge opportunity for upgrading infrastructure, breeding, medication, feed production, vertical integration and processing. The focus should be on modernisation in the poultry sector by infrastructure development, upgrading hatcheries, breeding farms, processing units and storage facilities to meet international standards, vet labs, testing labs and cold chains.
In India only 8-10% of poultry meat produced is processed chicken and the rest is sold as live chicken through numerous retail outlets also known as wet markets. With the development of online retailers including Fresh to Home and Licious and expansion of global as well as domestic fast food companies including KFC, Macdonald etc., processing of poultry has witnessed a sharp increase. It would also lead to value addition in the poultry products and would ensure higher income. It would result in production of quality poultry meat adhering the modern food standards.
Leave a comment