Feed Bussiness Worldwide: October / November, 2013
Indian feed and livestock's miracle in progress
By transforming prolific inefficiencies into productivity gains, a flexible feed supply base will sustain Indian agribusiness's rapid expansion.
by Eric J. BROOKS
Ever since it opted to undertake rapid economic development in the early 1990s, no feed and livestock producer has grown in a more spectacular or unusual manner than India. Shaking off vegetarian historical traditions, the years from 1991 to 2013 saw India's production of milk, beef and broilers skyrocket by 141%, 157% and 557% respectively.
Moreover, with the quantity of beef and chicken meat produced jumping 2.57 times and 6.58 times respectively from 1991 to 2013, the increase in feed crop harvests was far more muted. Soy sort of kept pace, as soy feed demand increased 382% and the harvest increased 377%.
But the situation was not nearly as good with corn, as the harvest expanded by 166% over these same 22 years, far less than the much larger increases in chicken and beef production. What at first appears troubling is that even with feed grain supply being outstripped by demand, at 21.5 million tonnes, India's 2013 corn harvest is approximately 10% that of China's, which has a population of comparable size.
Moreover, even after such a breathtaking expansion of beef and broiler consumption, in 2013, their respective per capita consumptions are approximately 2kg and 3kg, with a total of 2kg consumed in other ruminant meats such as sheep and goat meat. With India's average personal incomes and meat consumption still a fraction of those in China, the implied tripling or quadrupling in poultry, ruminant meat and dairy consumption at first sight makes it appear as if domestic Indian feed supplies could be easily overwhelmed by the quantum increases in protein production to come.
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