India's chicken consumption set to double by 2014

India's current chicken consumption is below three kilogrammes per head per year and the poultry industry expects the local consumption to double in the next five years.

 

The domestic poultry industry produces 240 crore birds commercially every year. To cope with the doubling of demand by 2014-15, the industry will need to expand at a rate of 12-15% annually, requiring an investment of INR 300 (US$6.39) per commercial broiler and INR 450-500 (US$9.59-10.65) per commercial layer, not including the land cost, says Venkateshwara Hatcheries' deputy general manager PG Pedgaonkar.

 

''While consumption is expected to double in the next five years, it may not become six kilogrammes per head in 2014-15. It may increase to 4.5-5 kilogrammes per head, factoring in an increase in our population,'' Dr Pedgaonkar said. The poultry industry could become INR 60,000-65,000 (US$1,279.14-1,385.30) worth sector by then.

 

Other players such as the Mumbai-based Godrej Agrovet and the Coimbatore-based Suguna group maintained that the current chicken consumption is just over two kilogrammes per head annually but both agreed that consumption is expected to double by 2014-15.

 

Godrej Agrovet managing director BS Yadav said, ''The consumption of chicken doubles every five-six years, so we expect it to double by 2014-15. This will require huge investments but banks have lost large sums of money through growers going bankrupt so the investment needed for capital formation is not happening. Everyone will have to invest, from poultry farms, to breeders and hatcheries since this is an investment-intensive business. Consumption may be ready to increase but the matching infrastructure to handle it is not ready.''

 

Outlining the issues the poultry industry faces, Suguna Group managing director B Soundararajan said, ''In 2007, the per-capita consumption in India was two kilogrammes. But due to the financial crisis and an increase in commodity prices, there was a drop in consumption. This year, consumption has picked up again.''