Current Scenario of Poultry Industry in India

-Joseph P Alex-
College of avian sciences and management

India has 1.23 billion people and the number is growing every year. Eggs and chicken
are accepted by all communities and are available at the most reasonable prices. The poultry
sector in India has undergone a paradigm shift in structure and operation from a mere
backyard activity into a major commercial agri based industry over a period of four decades.
Development of high yielding layer (310-340 eggs) and broiler (2.4-2.6 kg at 6 wks) varieties
together with standardized package of practices on nutrition, housing, management and
disease control have contributed to spectacular growth rates in egg (4-6% per annum) and
broiler production (8-10% per annum) in India. The annual per capita availability also
increased to 60 eggs and 2.5 Kg of meat, consistently with increase in productivity. Chicken
dominates the poultry production in India with nearly 95% of the total egg production and the
rest is contributed by ducks and others. FAO classified poultry production systems into four
categories based on the volume of operation and level of biosecurity, i.e., village or backyard
production, commercial production with low biosecurity, large scale commercial with high
biosecurity and industrial and integrated production systems. Feed accounts for 65-70% of
broiler and 75-80% of layer production cost.

Current scenario
India ranks 3rd in egg production and 5th in chicken meat production in the world).
About 3.4 million tons (74 billion) of eggs are produced from 260 million layers and 3.8
million tons of poultry meat is produced from 3000 million broilers per annum in India. The
Poultry Industry is contributing about Rs.70,000/- crores to the national GDP and providing
employment to more than 4 million people either directly or indirectly. About 2-2.5 million
tons of poultry litter, a valuable organic fertilizer, is produced as a byproduct every year. The
poultry industry is concentrated in certain pockets of the country. The State of Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu lead the country followed by Maharashtra, Punjab and
West Bengal. The popularity of poultry meat is on the rise during the last two decades. It is
presently accounting for about 45% of the total meat consumed and is the most popular meat
from any single livestock species. Chicken dominates the poultry production in India with
nearly 95% of the total egg production and the rest is contributed by ducks and others
(DADF, 2014). Majority of ducks are found in certain states on the eastern and southern coast
like West Bengal, Assam, Orissa, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu etc. Other species
like turkeys, guinea fowls, ostriches, emus etc. are reared only in small numbers in areas
having specific market demand. India is the home for many breeds of native chicken like
Aseel, Kadak Nath, Tellicherry, Haringhata Black, Nicobari, Danki etc., which are still
popular among the rural and tribal areas for back yard/ free range farming. For the
commercial farming, high yielding crosses developed and supplied by the private sector like
Babcock, Bovans (egg type) and Cobb, Ross, Hubbard (meat type) are being used. The
crosses developed under the public sector like Krishilayer, Krishibro (multicolored broiler
etc.) are popular in certain areas. Availability of eggs is highly non-uniform in different parts
of the country primarily due to wide variation in the production levels. Much of the eggs
produced are consumed by the urban population while the rural and tribal areas have little
access to the eggs and meat produced from the industrial sources and the availability is very
low. In spite of rapid growth, the poultry industry suffered many setbacks in recent times due
to rising cost of feed, emergence of new or reemerging of existing diseases, fluctuating
market price of egg and broilers, etc. which need to be addressed to make the poultry sector
as a sustainable enterprise.

Layer Industry (Eggs)

The small layer units are becoming unviable. Large units with million birds and
100,000 birds in one house are coming up. Some 70% of the layer birds were in the states of
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra & Karnataka in south and only Punjab in the
north. The eggs were transported to other states. More production units are coming up in
Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar now. North-Eastern states are planning production
units to get fresh eggs at more reasonable costs saving time and money on transport.

Larger units go for bulk purchases, seasonal purchases at harvest and even go for import of
feed ingredients. The production costs can be managed. Promotion of egg consumption in
mid-day meal schemes, hospitals will boost the demand. Shell eggs & egg products, like
pasteurised and processed liquid eggs have good markets in many countries like the Middle-
East and Japan. We have to enhance the quality standards to meet the requirement of those
countries.
These large houses with mechanization require huge investments. The cost of finance is a
large part of production cost of an egg. Social issues around the large farm units like manure
handling, labour availability and environment pollution are putting a limit on expansions.
The price of feed is increasing. The egg prices also increase but at a low pace. The gap is
being met with efficiency in production.

Broiler Industry
Broiler bird was not known in India till 1975. Chicken was “spent hens” or male
birds. The commercial broiler chicks ready in 60 days, more efficient with tender meat started
coming as separate entity after 1975. The hatcheries imported the parents and the
grandparents of the hybrid broilers. The breeding operations started in Delhi and later shifted
to South India. Movement of parent stock, hatching eggs, day-old chicks initiated the broiler
growing everywhere. The hatcheries sold day-old chicks to farmers who raised them and sold
to traders. Live broilers became a separate food entity in 10 years. Live broilers are not
transported for long distances.
Tremendous technical work has gone in to broiler production in the fields of genetics,
nutrition, breeder management, hatchery management, housing and disease management. The
broiler growing period has gradually come down to less than 40 days from 60 days.

More broiler growers and improved efficiencies have changed the shape of the industry. Feed
(65%) and chicks (25%) account for 90% of the broiler inputs and the consolidation started in
the production. There is a wide gap between the economics of the smaller units purchasing
feed & chicks and the ones using their own feed & chicks. Big companies with larger
investments came in and the smaller units compromised on growing the broilers for the
company, restricting themselves to the 10% of the production cost. This synergy in the form
of “Contract Farming” is an excellent development that took place in India. Farmers with
small land-holding find growing broilers on “All-in-All-out” basis for a company, in a
poultry house built on the land is giving better and assured returns compared to agriculture
which is more nature-dependent and uncertain.

The genetic improvement by selective breeding is giving consistent improvement in broiler

growth and feed efficiency. 0.75 days reduction and 75 gm less feed per kg of chicken every
year.
The large feed mills adopting feed production technology is making safe and efficient feeds
at the best prices possible. They concentrate on procurement of materials on the basis of
quality and price.
The feed & chicken price goes up. The chicken prices move very slowly. The gap is being
met with efficiency in production.

Duck production
As per livestock census 2007, the duck population of India is 27.43 million
constituting 8.52 percent of the total poultry population. As per FAO statistics, the duck meat
production increased from 0.026 million tonnes to 0.15 m tonnes, recording 577 percent
increase in growth rate, in two decades. The distribution and demographic dynamics of duck
population revealed that they are concentrated in Eastern, North eastern and Southern states
of the country. The leading states in duck population are West Bengal, Assam, Kerala,
Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, UP, Bihar and Orissa. Duck farming in India is characterized
by nomadic, extensive, seasonal, and is still held in the hands of small and marginal farmers
and nomadic tribes.

Quail production
Commercial quail farming in India can be a great source of handsome income and
employment opportunity. Along with economic importance quail farming is also very
pleasuring and entertaining. Quails are very small sized poultry bird and their rearing system
is very easy and simple.

Quails are very suitable for commercial production of both meat and eggs. And commercial
quail farming business is more profitable than any other poultry business. Quails can adopt
themselves with almost all types of climate and environment. And Indian climate is very
suitable for raising quails commercially. Quails are reared on backyards in cages because of
its less space requirement and easy management they can be easily reared by women and
children. That is the reason of resent increase in quail farming in India.

Turkey production
Among poultry turkey occupies an important position next to the chicken in the
world. They are reared for meat and their meat is the leanest meat among poultry. Turkey is
capable of growing in any agro climatic conditions it is reared mostly in rural areas in
backyard. Scientific practices are yet to be adopted in a large scale. In urban areas
consumption of turkey meat is gaining popularity. Kerala and Tamil nadu are the leading
states. None descriptive turkeys are found in good numbers in Kerala, Tamil nadu, and
eastern districts of utter Pradesh.
Turkeys are no longer a seasonal crop. It is being produced round the year and all
section consumes without any taboo. The cost is minimized in turkey because of their good
foraging ability, disease resistance and can be raised with less investment for shelter
equipment and management. Turkey farming in India can be a best alternative to poultry
farming and is slowly gaining up popularity. Indian conditions suits very well for turkey
farming and with good management practices it is highly profitable.

Emu production
Emu Farming in India came into existence during the mid-1990 when 350 Pairs of
emu birds were imported from USA to South India. Emu farming is now very well
established in states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh. It is estimated
that there are about 2,500 emu farms all over India. This business is now rapidly spreading to
the states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Uttaranchal. Farmers are investing in
the emu business and are setting up a lot of large hatcheries and breeding farms. As this
business is new in the North Indian states, there are currently no emu meat and oil processing
units. Emu farming is also being supported by various government organizations all over
India which are providing farmers with lucrative subsidiaries and offers.

Due to the rapid growth of this business it is expected that this business will get saturated in
the next 5-7 years. Although there is a very huge export market for emu meat, oil, leather and
fertile eggs, it is very difficult for the Indian emu farmers to meet their stringent quality
control regulations. Thus, the only way for emu farming to survive in India is to rely on the
international export markets. This is a very difficult task to accomplish, and can only be
achieved with the help of skilled technical consultants who have a thorough knowledge of the
international market rules and regulations related to emu products. It is the right time for emu
farms in India to improve and stand up to the global expectations and make a name for
themselves in the international market.
 Poultry Industry in kerala

Poultry Development in the Country has taken a quantum leap in the last three
decades and is growing by 15% to 70% of the total production is from the commercial
poultry. When the national scenario shows a quantum leap in Poultry Production, the
situation in our state is showing a negative trend with a declining growth of 15.4%. So this is
contrary to the scenario in national level. Though lots of attempts were made by the
Government through both state plans and decentralized plans, we could not attain the
expected goal of self sufficiency in egg production During 1970’s Kerala was an exporter of
eggs to other parts of the country with Chengannur and Kottarakkara railway station famous
for centers of rail transport of eggs to other states. So we were producing more than demand
of the state during those periods, but the situation now is that we are importing about 300
Crores of Hen Eggs and 40 Cores of Duck Eggs every year and the drain of around 650
Crores to the neighboring states.

The per-capita availability of eggs has slide down from 76 to 36 in 2003. The poultry
population has come down to 110 Lakhs in 2003. The same in with duck population which
declined to Rs.6.6 Lakhs from 11.2 Lakhs. As per the ICMR recommendations the average
per capita egg consumption should be 180 in adults and 90 in children. Taking into
consideration that children accounts only 20% of the total population, the required eggs for
Kerala is 472 Crores and our present production is only 120 Crores. The shortage is 360
Crores. At present the requirement is met by importing eggs from other states. This indicates
that there is potential market for an excess production of 360 Crores in our state. For the
poorest of the poor and the landless, the major issues are food security and risk spreading
through subsidiary income, which are to be addressed besides targeted egg production. It is a
well-known fact that a fairly significant proportion of landless and marginal farmers make
out their living from poultry and other small ruminants. Backyard poultry requiring hardly
any infrastructure setup is a potent tool for upliftment of the poorest of poor. Besides
subsidiary income generation, rural backyard poultry provides nutrition supplementation in
the form of valuable animal protein and empowers women. It has a very positive impact to
improve the socio economic factors of the socioeconomically backward people.

It may also be mentioned that groups of small rural producers cater to the needs of consumers
also have a specific preference for colored birds and brown shelled eggs both of which are
mostly produced in the rural backyard poultry. Thus there is a need to take up specific rural
backyard poultry production programs to meet the requirements of the rural consumers while
constituting a source of subsistence income as a subsidiary occupation by taking up colored
bird units ranging from 10-20 birds per family in their backyards. Such units require very
little hand feeding and can give a fairly handsome return with bare minimum night shelter.

Commercial Poultry Production in Kerala is not feasible owing to various reasons and hence
the targeted goal of doubling the egg production in 2 years and making self-sufficiency in 5
years can not be achieved by large scale Commercial production. The only alternative to this
is strengthening of Backyard Poultry Production, which was once Kerala’s own method of
bulk and quality egg production at bare minimum cost.

In case of broiler production the growing business prospects and an increase in domestic
consumption seem to have helped Kerala stop depending on neighboring Tamil Nadu for
chicken. God’s own country has now turned self-sufficient in poultry meat production. Today
almost 80 per cent of the poultry meat in the State has been met from farms within the State
and the growth in domestic production has considerably reduced chicken arrivals from
neighboring states. The entry of integrators, low investments, minimal area to set up ventures,
and self employment finance options from banks as the reasons for a surge in poultry
farming. With a demand of 60 lakh kg of chicken in a week.

For a 1,000 bird farm, a farmer had to spend around ₹1 lakh and many of the owners opted to
set up units behind their houses as a small-scale venture to avoid taxes. Given the growth in
the poultry industry, farm integrators see an organised market in Kerala and this is one of the
reasons for strengthening domestic production
.
Besides the rise in demand for ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook chicken products, the recent
cattle trade ban, religious taboos on certain meat products, elimination of 14.5 per cent VAT
on chicken in the post-GST era should further encourage domestic production.Chicken
consumption in India is growing at 11 per cent CAGR and as per a National Sample Survey
Office report, per capita consumption in India is beyond 4 kg and unofficially, it was 10 kg.
Dumping of live chicken from neighboring states in Kerala in the post-GST period as the cost
of production there was 15-20 per cent lower. This, he said, may impact domestic production
and the authorities should take necessary steps to prevent such trade practices.

The recent increase in chicken prices in the Kerala market is due to the loss or shutdown of
local farms and hatchery on the flood time and the drought in Tamil Nadu affected the
production in hatcheries, leading to low arrivals of chicks for domestic production and a
surge in the selling price to ₹145 per kg from ₹92 in April

Duck, Quail and Turkey production are in up hike in kerala even though duck
production hit with an issue of bird flu in the resent year. Quail production is also promoted
by the government and veterinary university through subsidies and the aneswara project held
but the veterinary university which is of providing 10quails and a hanging cage at a
subsidized cost for promoting quail farming

Emus and Ostriches are not commonly found in Kerala, emu farming got some
attention a few years back but somehow farmers are not much interested in it due to lack of
proper processing plants.
Conclusions
A major constraint affecting the growth of the poultry industry in India is the lack of
basic infrastructure such as storage and transportation, including cold chain. As a result, there
are wild price fluctuations in the prices of poultry products, i.e., eggs and broilers. Another
constraint to growth is an inefficient marketing system. The presence of so many market
intermediaries harms both the producer and the consumer. A third problem relates to the price
availability of feed resources. Maize or corn plays a major role in broiler production, as it
constitutes 50 to 55 percent of broiler feed. As the broiler industry is growing at the rate of 15
percent per annum, the demand for maize is thus likely to increase. Presently India grows
only 11 million tonnes of maize and only 5 million tonnes are available for poultry, which is
not sufficient if the current growth rate of the industry is to be maintained.
The poultry production in India continues to exhibit spectacular growth in spite of several
challenges encountered over the years. With increasing demand for chicken egg and meat, the
poultry production in India foresees further expansion and industrialization. Adoption of
small scale poultry farming in backyards of rural households will enhance the nutritional and
economic status of the rural people. With the advent of knowledge and new discoveries in
different fields of poultry, the future challenges will not be a hindrance and thus sees a bright
future for poultry production in this country.