March 29, 2004

Good Prospect For Indian Poultry Exports

Despite the problems faced by the domestic Indian poultry industry, prospects on the export front look bright.

India which has been exporting egg powder and broiler hatching eggs for the last five years has in recent months made inroads into the exports of processed chicken as well. There are eight plants in the country with a total capacity of over one lakh birds per day.

Till recently, the entire production was meant for the domestic market only. However, in the wake of the bird flu threat, exports of processed chicken meat from countries like US and Thailand to Middle East took a severe beating.

The price per tonne was $975 before the bird flu panic broke out, and the current price is around $1,300 a ton, poultry sector sources said.

They expect the prices to move in the range of $1,200-1,400 in the next couple of months. They added that more chicken meat processing plants were likely to come up in the next one year.

India has four egg powder plants, two in Andhra Pradesh and one each in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The total capacity of these plants is said to be 11,000 tons per annum and the plants are operating at full capacity, sources claimed.

At present, a kg of albumin powder fetches 6.5 euros, while whole egg power and yolk powder are quoting at 4 euros a kg. The country exports 60 lakh broiler hatching eggs per month at a price of 23-25 cents an egg. Both egg powder and hatching egg prices are said to be around 10 per cent higher this year.