The total processing capacity in India is over 1 million tons per annum, of which 40-50 percent is utilized. India exports about 2,022,390.94 tons of Animal Products in 2022-23. Indian buffalo meat is witnessing strong demand in international markets due to its lean character and near-organic nature. Unlike cow slaughter, there is no social taboo in killing buffalo for meat. Goat and lamb meat are relatively small segments where local demand is outstripping supply.
The recent trend in India is to establish large abattoirs-cum-meat processing plants with the latest technology. India has already established ten state-of-art mechanized abattoirs-cum-meat processing plants in various states based on slaughtering buffaloes and sheep. These plants are environmentally friendly, where all the slaughterhouse byproducts are utilized in the production of meat-cum-bone meal, tallow, bone chips and other value-added products. Several more are under construction.
The plants follow all the sanitary and phytosanitary measures required by the International Animal Health code of the World Organization for Animal Health (O.I.E.). These plants mostly produce buffalo meat for export. India is becoming a major buffalo meat-producing country and will be a main player in the international market with the additional establishment of the state-of-art-abattoirs cum meat processing plants.
Note 1 Beef includes meat and edible offal of cows, oxen and calf
Note 2 Offal includes heart, liver, tongue, kidneys, and other organs.
| Areas of Production: |
| Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan are the key areas of processed meat production in India. |
| The individual products under this sub-head are as below: |
| Sausages & Canned Meat Homogenized Meat Preparations Preserved Meats Other Poultry Meat Preserved Meat of Bovine Animals Meat Extracts & Meat Juices |
| India Facts and Figures : |
| The country has exported 331.57MTs of processed meat to the world worth Rs. 11.72 Crores/ 1.47 Million USD during the year 2022-23. |
| Major Export Destinations (2022-23): Kuwait, Bhutan, Qatar, U Arab Emts, Turkey and Cambodia. |
Buffalo meat for export is largely of frozen deboned, deglanded meat of below 6 pH packed in different cuts at the meat export plants. Vacuum-packed chilled buffalo meat is also being exported.
Buffalo meat produced in India has become popular year after year due to its merits and quality.
India ranks 1st in the production of buffalo meat with share of 42.60%.
The country has exported 1.24 Million MT of buffalo meat products to the world for the worth of US$ 3.61 billion during 2018-19.
Under the existing Foreign Trade Policy (2022), the export of beef (meat of cow, oxen, calf) and bone-in meat of buffalo is prohibited and is not permitted to be exported. However, the export of sheep and goat meat and boneless buffalo meat is freely allowed subject to fulfillment of the condition stipulated in the policy.
Source: Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Govt of India.
Tagged: Dairy Product