December 23, 2005

India poultry industry eyes Japanese market

With Japan looking for new sources of poultry meat after bird flu struck major poultry-producing countries such as Thailand and China, India's poultry industry should prepare itself to export 'branded' chickens to this market by expanding their production capacity, said India Poultry Products Exporters Association (AIPPEA).

Japan is sixth largest chicken consuming country in the world, importing 525,000 tonnes of processed chicken meat in 2004 alone, according to AIPPEA.

Although India has been producing 500,000 tonnes of poultry meat every year, domestic firms have the capacity to process only 15,000 tonnes of chicken meat a month. Japan is now looking to import over 200,000 tonnes of processed chicken meat from India a year.

The Indian poultry industry has witnessing 10- to 15- percent growth during recent years, but only a few private players like Venkateswara Hatcheries, Suguna Hatcheries, Godrej and Arambagh Hatcheries possess international-standards chicken processing units.

Already some Japanese companies have approached Indian chicken processing firms to import poultry into Japan. Japan's Marubeni Corporation, for example, appears keen to work with West Bengal's Arambagh Hatcheries to import 1,000 tonnes of chicken a month. Marubeni, which has relied on Brazilian chicken since the latest round of bird flu hit the region in 2003, aims to expand its supplier base and is looking for Indian poultry firms.

AIPPEA is now urging the India's Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority for financial assistance to start new chicken processing units and upgrade the existing ones to meet overseas demand.

If the government could provide assistance, India's poultry industry should meet Japanese demand in three years, predicts AIPPEA secretary P Valsan.