Food processing industry plays an important role in the Indian economy. Processing of food covers a wide range of products or items like milk, milk products, fruits, vegetables, meat poultry, alcohol, protein food, confectionery etc. meat processing industry too. Further food processing industry will be classified into two broad categories on the basis of raw material, meat processing industry
1) Food-based industry
2) Animal-based industry
The meat industry is one of the most important parts of food processing industry and if we want to go into detail then animal and livestock based industry become an important segment of the food industry. Meat processing is a part of meat packing industry. Meatpacking industry refers to processing, packing, and distribution of animals. The main focus of meat industry is to provide meat for human consumption. Since 1996, meat production in India is growing at 4 percent per annum. Currently, the processing rate of buffalo meat is around 21 percent, 6 percent for the poultry and processing rate of the marine in 8 percent. Presently our country has 171 meat processing industry, 3600 slaughterhouse, and 9 abattoirs. The poultry industry is one of the fastest growing industries which is rising at the rate of 8 percent per annum. India is having the great potential for the production and export of meat due to the availability of sufficient resources in the market. There is eight poultry production industry in India and which holds a great share in the industry.
- The poultry meat industry is still at the beginning stage.
- In India, around 97 percent of poultry meat is consumed in the fresh form.
- And the rest of 3 percent which is about 23000 tons is processed.
- Western hatcheries were the first to set up a poultry processing unit in India.
EXPORT OF MEAT AND ITS PRODUCTS
Export of meat is largely earned by poultry, sheep, goat and buffalo meat which is growing at the rate of 30 percent per year. It has also seen that the increased number of fast food outlet has also played an impact on meat processing industry.
Improvement in efficiency and technology plays an important role in the growth of meat industry. Exponential Growth model helps to measure the trend of consumption, production, and exports. NPC (nominal protection coefficient) has been used to excess the export competitiveness of industry and to measure the productivity changes of meat processing industry in India TFP index will be used. The output value of meat has been increased at the rate of 6 percent per annum. The rise in demand is the main reason behind this increased rate of output.
OPPORTUNITIES FOR MEAT PROCESSING INDUSTRY IN INDIA
In India, the production of meat is around 6 million tons and it ranks in the fifth position when it comes to the production of meat. As India ranked first when it comes to the population of Cattles hence there are great opportunities for meat processing industry. When it comes to meat processing industry there is less development in the domestic market on the other hand Exports under meat industry is at the boom. Our country export’s around 5 billion US Dollar of meat every year. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), our country has dethroned Brazil as world’s leading exporter of buffalo meat with the bovine meat. In 1969, production of meat and it export were started. Currently, India exports meat to around 65 countries. As compare to meat sold by the neighborhood nation Indian meat has its own advantages.
When it comes to Indian meat there is no use of antibiotics and other chemicals. The Indian buffalo meat is 93 percent lean and blends nicely with the other ingredients. In 2015, According to United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), India is one of the leading countries which exports around 2.4 million tons bovine meat which is 4million higher as compare to Brazil and Australia. By the year 2020, the demand for milk is estimated to be around 143 million tons and the demand for meat and eggs around 8 million tons. These opportunities can be capitalized for the advantages to the producer as well as consumers.
CHALLENGES
Even if there are lots of opportunities when it comes to developing the market for Indian meat, this sector is not yet received the adequate amount of attention by the entrepreneur, politicians, scientists, and policymakers. When it comes to the domestic market of our country buying and selling of meat is still restricted. Those people who can cut and sell the meat will come from a different or specific caste. When it comes to beef from the cows it is totally prohibited because the cow is considered sacred for Hindus. It is totally banned in Haryana and Maharashtra. On the other hand due to various restrictions associated with meat. India has become the world’s leading milk producer and it’s on the fifth rank when it comes to the production of meat. Low investment is one of the main reasons for the fifth rank of meat industries and the main constraint is lies in ensuring hygiene condition in slaughterhouses for the production of meat. Europe and USA, the two largest producers of meat exporters in the world and India will take time to enter into these two mature competitive markets. In the last few year, two other markets have also opened for the export of Indian meat and these two markets are China and Russia. In precise we can say that India’s meat market has a great potential for growth