India - increasing sophistication
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Poultry Federation of India treasurer
and spokesperson Ricky Thaper
believes that poultry production will
be the sunrise industry in the country
over the next five years.
exported to Middle Eastern countries.
India has now, however, set up
modern abattoirs and is the number
one exporter of bu;alo meat.
The Indian poultry industry has
adopted modern techniques of
production and has achieved the
distinction of producing low-cost
broiler meat compared to other meats.
Thus, production of broiler meat, and
its consumption in the country, has
expanded very quickly. Broiler meat
consumption has grown at 10% per
annum over the last 15 years.
India is now the fifth largest
broiler producer in the world, with
production of 2. 3 million mt of
broiler meat per annum. With the
Indian economy growing at 7-8%
per annum, for the last two decades,
consumption of poultry meat (and
other meats) has grown faster than
its production. Thus price of meats
and meat products have increased
in India, and the poultry industry
can hardly meet this growing
consumption, so there are only very
small quantities available for export.
CLEMENTS: Will the country become
a significant exporter? Are larger
companies looking at overseas markets?
THAPER: The larger poultry
companies in India are interested in
exporting, and are likely to succeed
in next 5-10 years. India has a large
unemployed workforce that is ready to
adopt broiler production as a vocation.
The large companies will prefer to tie
up with them for contract farming
and thus broiler production will keep
expanding fast in the coming years. All
the input industries are well geared to
meet this growing demand.
The Indian government has
encouraged the National Meat and
Poultry Processing Board (NMPPB)
to develop meat and poultry
processing for local consumption
and export. The government has
allowed 100% FDI (Foreign Direct
Investment) in food processing and
many multinational companies are
taking advantage of this to process
broiler meat in India (including
further processing) and export the
premium cuts to the markets abroad.
Those companies have a good
understanding of export markets.
With the availability of required
inputs, India is in a position to
produce broiler meat at a competitive
price, and already India is among the
lowest-cost producers of broiler meat.
CLEMENTS: What are the main
challenges currently facing producers
in India?
THAPER: India is traditionally a wet
market. Over 80% of broilers are sold
live in Indian markets. To shift to a
‘dressed chicken’ market, lack of cold
chain is the biggest constraint. Big
poultry companies are developing
the cold chain, but it takes time to
develop on the scale required for the
vast Indian market.
Cold chain is a big constraint in
the country’s infrastructure. The
concept of cold chain is new to
India. Additionally, energy shortages
throughout the country makes it still
more di;cult, as cost escalations are
high with cold chain. Multinational
companies involved in cold chain
infrastructure can help to develop
the system faster.
Over the next 5-10 years, the
dressed chicken market is expected
to account for 25-30% of the total
broiler meat market. Processing
plants and big retail chains are trying
their best, and meat processors
are developing their own franchise
shops for the sale of meat products.
CLEMENTS: Has investment in new
technology been a;ected by the
economic downturn?
THAPER: The economic downturn
did have some e;ect, but it was not as
severe as in the developed economies.
India is again in growth mode, and the
economy is developing fast.
CLEMENTS: Are producers currently
facing any regulatory challenges and,
if so, how easy will it be for them to
comply?
THAPER: To meet the standards
for export, and also to improve the
hygiene standards for Indian consumers,
the government is in the process of
introducing regulations. However, Indian
companies will not have too many
