WATT PoultryUSA - October 2011

INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE

India’s broiler industry moving
from live to processed chicken
Manually processed poultry accounts for more than 90% of demand,
but modernization is spreading. DR. MRIGEN DUTTA

almost completely as a live-bird
market. Manual poultry pro-
cessing accounts for more than
90% of consumption. Traditional
poultry dressing facilities at the
wholesale or retail level are com-
pletely manual, with no sanitary
measures taken for the dressing
;oor or the workers. As a result,
hygienic slaughtering and proper
utilization of byproducts are cur-
rently the most important issues
in the Indian meat industry.
Regional poultry production
and consumption imbalances
are also prevalent. The dominance of the
live-bird market restricts the movement
of poultry because of high mortality and
shrinkage associated with transporting live
birds. Broiler prices are based on demand
and supply in a particular market on any
particular day. A preference for live birds
limits broiler meat consumption in markets
where poultry consumers are sensitive to
price.

Traditional poultry dressing facilities at the wholesale or retail level are completely manual, with no sanitary measures taken for the dressing floor or the workers.

Indian consumers prefer to buy fresh meat from wet markets or live-bird markets. A perception exists that fresh poultry meat purchased as a live bird and slaughtered in their presence is of better quality. Consumers lack con;dence in chilled or frozen meat because they believe live birds have a better taste and texture.

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regions of India adversely affect meat consumption leading to a signi;cant drop in demand. Negligible sales of frozen products, coupled with the limitation in inter-regional movement of live birds, creates volatile broiler market prices. A shift to mechanical and more hygienic processing is integral to transition the broiler industry into a chilled-, frozen-product market.

Watch Ricky Thaper, spokesman and treasurer of the Poultry Federation of India, discuss growth and obstacles on your smartphone or at www.WAT TAgNet.com/20256.html. If your phone has a Web browser and camera, download the free app at http://qrcode.kaywa.com/ and scan over this bar code to watch.

Poultry meat has been the fastest growing sector of Indian animal production and consumption for the last three decades, growing at a compound annual rate of more than 11%. The annual per capita consumption of eggs and chicken meat has grown from 10 eggs and 146 grams in the 1970s to about 44 eggs and 1. 8 kilograms, presently.

Broiler market volatility
Transitioning to processed
chicken

There is some demand for frozen or chilled poultry products from hotels, fast-food restaurant chains and some urban consumers. About 6% of poultry meat is sold in processed form, of which only about 1% undergoes processing into value-added products (ready-to-eat/ready-to-cook).

The modern poultry processing sector in India consists of more than 12 ;rms, which are mostly operated by poultry integrators located in or near major urban areas. These ;rms use imported equipment and follow hygienic procedures, including monitoring employee health, water supplies, sanitary conditions and refrigeration facilities.