Export of Meat

India has now started exporting meat particularly to the South-Asian countries. At present, India is exporting meat to more than 60 countries. Buffalo meat constitutes the major item of Indian meat exports due to domestic availability, price differential between domestic and export markets and export policy (buffalo meat is permitted for export while beef is banned). Buffalo meat export is more than 90 per cent of total meat export in quantity terms and 85 per cent in value terms. Export of sheeplgoat meat, pig meat, poultry meat, edible offals and meat products is in small quantities. 

The potential advantages of Indian meat export includes: 

• Large raw material resource 
• Price competitiveness 
• Cheap labor costs 
• Proximity to importing countries and I Preference for Indian lean meat produced on natural grazing and liberalized economic policies.

The export of meat and edible offals from India in 2004-05 is presented in Table  

SourceDirectorate General of Statistics & Commercial Intelligence, Calcutta, (DGCIS), referred by Ministry of agriculture, Govt. of India in Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics, 2006. 

 Export of Meat and Edible Offals in 2004-2005

Future Prospect of Meat Export:

With large animal population, India has good potential to export meat. At present, the major destination of buffalo meat exports are Malaysia, UAE, Jordan, Phillipines, Oman, Mauritius etc., while mutton is exported mainly to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain etc. Sheep and goat meat are generally exported in fresh and chilled form whereas, buffalo meat is generally exported in frozen form. Now- a-days, many corporate firms have set up modern integrated meat complexes having state-of-the-art facilities for livestock holding, slaughter, carcass deboning, packing, chiller and frozen storages, by-products processing, effluent treatment etc. Despite of owning about 56 per cent world's buffalo population, 14 per cent of the cattle and goat population of the world, India produce only 2.32 per cent of the total world's meat production (FA0 Statistical Year Book, 2004). The present status of the processed meat industry is not satisfactory. Most of meat is consumed as fresh meat, only two per cent of the total meat is  converted into processed meat products. 

Major constraints affecting India's meat export includes: 

• Animals are not scientifically reared for meat purpose (except broilers). 
• High prevalence of zoonotic and other diseases like Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD), Hemorrhagic Septicaernia (HS), Brucellosis etc., importing countries are not interested in Indian meat. 
• Inadequate modem abattoir facilities, inadequate slaughtering, processing, storage and transport facilities as per international standards. 
• Inadequate quatity control programmes both in the government and meat industry such as HACCP, Risk Assessment and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures. 
• Negative propaganda of some social groups against meat export and 
• Lack of pragmatic slaughter policy for effective utilization of livestock resources