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Livestock Industry
in India
India's animal wealth is quite large in terms of its populations of cattle, poultry, sheep and goats, camels,
horses and pets (Table 1). Recently, aquaculture has also been growing in importance in India.
Table 1
Livestock population in India
Livestock type
Population
(millions)
Cattle
204.5
Buffaloes
84.2
Sheep
50.8
Goats
115.3
Pigs
12.8
Horses/ponies
0.8
Mules
0.2
Donkeys
0.9
Camels
1.0
Yaks
0.06
Mithuns
0.15
Total livestock
470.86
Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Ministry of
Agriculture. 1992. Livestock census.
Dairy cattle
Worldwide, India is number one in milk production, at 78.0 million tonnes per annum, and the dairy
industry is spread across the whole country. India has one of the largest populations of cattle and
buffalo in the world. In a total of 288 million head, there are 10 million cross-bred cows, 15
million good milch cows of local varieties and 36 million buffaloes of good milch varieties
(Table 2). The remainder of the cattle population is of a non-descript variety and a sizeable
proportion consists of bullocks.
Table 2
Cattle and poultry indicators
Dairy
Cross-bred cows (millions)
Improved cows (millions)
Improved buffaloes (millions)
Milk production (million tonnes)
Per capita consumption (g/day)
10.0
15.0
36.0
78.0
240
Poultry
Commercial layers (millions)
150
Commercial broilers (millions)
650
Stock breeders (millions)
6.5
9
Egg production (10 )
40
Per capita availability (eggs/year)
40
Poultry meat production (million tonnes)
1.0
Per capita availability (g/year)
1 000
Poultry feed production (million tonnes)
9.0
Annual growth
Dairy industry
5%
Layer industry
6-7%
Broiler industry
10%
Source: CLFMA studies assembled from published reports in Indian
dairy and poultry journals.
The cross-bred population is either Jersey or Holstein-Friesian, crossed with local cows. Cross-breeding
was a natural solution to upgrading the milk yield in the absence of high-value imported varieties of purebred animals. The buffalo breeds are unique to India, and produce milk with a fat content of 7 to 8
percent.
Milk is seen as a health drink and a variety of Indian sweets are prepared from milk. The ice-cream
market is growing.
Farms are located on the outskirts of cities and within cities. Almost all villages have a number of cattle,
but there are only a few organized dairy farms. In India, dairy is not so much an industry as a smallholder
farming activity.
Growth in the milk sector has occurred mainly through cooperative efforts. Cooperatives started by
supplying milk collection centres, where milk was collected from villagers in quantities as small as 1 litre,
and gradually started to provide other services to farmers, including education, artificial insemination,
veterinary health support and feeding. The small farmers became prosperous, loan facilities were made
available through banks, and member farmers started to share the profits from cooperatives. Cooperatives
also set up their own modern computerized feed plants. They have modern milk processing plants from
which they produce and market pasteurized milk, butter, butter oil, chocolate, ice-cream and milk sweets,
which are very popular with Indian consumers. Today, the feed production from cooperatives is about 0.6
million tonnes per year.
The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), which has excellent facilities for research on
breeding, nutrition and health care, has played a pivotal role in setting up cooperatives. Without NDDB
and several of the existing dairy cooperatives, the milk sector in India would have suffered.
The dairy industry in India is expected to grow, but growth will be restricted to individual small farmers.
It is unlikely that India will see the advent of large, organized dairy farming in the near future.
Poultry
Compared with the rest of the livestock sector, the poultry industry in India is more scientific, better
organized and continuously progressing towards modernization. Breeding and feeding management has
improved through education, training, competition, expansion and survival instincts. India is the world's
fifth largest egg producer, with a total production of 40 billion eggs per year. The broiler industry is
growing at the rate of 10 percent per annum. Indicators are given in Table 2.
India has 150 million layers and 650 million broilers. Annual per capita consumption of eggs is 40, and
that of broiler meat is 1 000 g. Although these figures are low in comparison with those for developed
countries, the industry has great potential to expand because 30 percent of the country's population (about
300 million people) is developing economically and the demand for poultry products is therefore likely to
grow.
The poultry industry has witnessed several ups and downs in the last 25 years as a result of unplanned
growth and a lack of government regulation. Currently, it is growing at the rate of 10 percent in broilers
and 6 to 7 percent in layers and is going through a phase of integration in broilers which is likely to
change the face of the industry. Although the phenomenon is new, it is expected that there will be very
rapid changes towards integration as more farmers find it increasingly difficult to run farms with marginal
profits or negative margins. The poultry industry is very modern, with pure-line breeding, the latest
vaccines and medicines, environmentally controlled poultry houses, up-to-date processing units, the latest
management practices, chicken processing, exports of hatching eggs and excellent feed quality.
Swine
India is a multilingual, multiracial country whose people hold various religious beliefs. Although the
majority of the population is Hindu, there are sizeable minorities of Muslims, Christians, Sikhs,
Buddhists, Jains, Parsees and others. India also has a large tribal population and is a plural society in
which the sentiments of each social and religious group need to be respected for harmony and peaceful
coexistence. Thus, most states in India have banned cow slaughter and the beef industry is therefore nonexistent. The majority of people disapprove of pork consumption, maybe because of the lack of scientific
management on swine farms. Swine reared on the streets are very unhygienic and buyers are always
suspicious about the source of pork, so there is no organized pork industry.
Aquaculture
The aquaculture industry is relatively young. Prawns and fish are grown in both fresh and brackish water,
the latter being located mostly in the southeast and southwest coasts. Aquaculture feed is manufactured
with highly scientific methods and modern plants that use new technologies and are highly efficient.
Multinational companies from Thailand and Taiwan Province of China have invested in this business.
India exports most of its aquaculture products.
across India and is restricted to horse racing. Imports of good genetic material are quite common in this
industry. The feeding of these valuable animals is mostly at the farm level under the supervision of
experienced people following traditional practices. What innovation there is tends to be closely guarded
by the companies concerned.
The Indian pet industry is in a nascent stage, with the main focus being on dogs rather than cats and the
emphasis on breeding and training. Regular dog shows are held by enthusiastic dog owners to increase
awareness of the rearing of good-quality pure-breds; dogs are a source of pride for households. In many
cities, animal health care systems are run by qualified vets with well-equipped facilities such as X-ray
machines, surgical facilities, imported vaccines and the latest drugs. The feeding of pets is however, left
to the household. Some commercial preparations are available in the form of dog biscuits, chews, etc., but
dogs are fed mostly on home-cooked food. One of the reasons for this could be the high cost of
commercial pet food.
Popular by-products
Some by-products are very nutritious and palatable to cattle, and these products form the bulk of cattle
feed. They include wheat bran, rice bran and oil-extracted rice bran, tapioca, guar meal, safflower meal,
maize gluten and molasses. A special mention should be made of Indian cattle feed's unique use of hulls
or shells, popularly known as chunis in the local language. These shells come from pulses: horse
conditions and are popularly used in animal feeds. Production of sorghum has remained static.
There is no export of sorghum and bajra (millet). See Table 3 for production of maize and
sorghum.
Table 3
Production of feed ingredients and
solvent meals, 1998-1999
Commodity
Maize
Jowar
Production
(million tonnes)
Export
(million
tonnes)
10.2
9.3
0
0
Soybean meal
2.7
Groundnut meal
0.59
Rapeseed meal
1.05
Sunflower meal
0.52
Cottonseed cake
1.12
Rice bran (deoiled)
2.95
1
Spillover from previous year's production.
Source: Government of India. 1995. Fertilizer statistics
1994-95.
2.731
0.09
0.92
0.03
0
0.005
Oilseed meals
India produces soybean, groundnut, rapeseed, sunflower, sesame and cotton meals and these are used as
major ingredients in animal feeds. The production of solvent meals is shown in Table 3.
For animal feeds, soybean is the most frequently used oilseed meal and has completely replaced
fishmeal in poultry feeds. Cottonseed cake and meal are often used in cattle feed throughout the country.
Groundnut meal is less popular because of the aflatoxin problem. Rapeseed meal is second to soybean
meal in production and second to cottonseed cake and meal for cattle feed. Sunflower meal is commonly
used in both cattle and poultry feed.
India regularly imports edible oil and imported 4.4 million tonnes in 1998-1999. These imports have
created problems for the country's crushers and, although India has about 600 solvent extraction units,
they are running at only 50 percent of capacity.
India's economy is agro-based but the yield per hectare is a cause of major concern to the country's
farmers and agriculture. The government recognizes this and there are subsidies on fertilizers and power
tariffs. The government also assures base prices for many agro-based commodities. India's average yields
per hectare of major commodities compared with the highest yields realized worldwide are given in Table
4.
Table 4
Average yield per hectare of selected
agricultural seeds (in tonnes)
Seed
Soybean
2.62 (United States)
Rapeseed
3.52 (France)
Sunflower
1.78 (Argentina)
Groundnut
2.82 (United States)
Sesame
0.78 (China)
Maize
7.9 (United States)
Sources: Data collected from SEA Publications 2000;
Government of India. 1995. Fertilizer statistics 1994-95.
Indian
yield
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.5
0.6
1.6
With a population of 1 billion people, the demand for agroproducts is great and India will have to
augment its agricultural production by several hundred percent if the country is to remain self-sufficient.
Table 5
BIS standards, dairy feed requirements
Characteristic
Moisture (maximum %)
11
Crude protein
22
(maximum %)
Crude fat (minimum %)
3
Crude fibre (maximum
7
%)
Acid-insoluble ash
3
(maximum %)
Source: Bureau of Indian Standards, New Delhi, India.
11
20
2.5
12
4
Table 6a
BIS standards, poultry feed requirements
Characteristic Broiler Broiler Chick Growing Laying Breeder
starter finisher feed chicken chicken layer
feed feed
feed
feed
feed
Moisture
11
11
11
11
11
(maximum %)
Crude protein
(N x 6.25)
23
20
20
16
18
(maximum %)
Crude fibre
6
6
7
8
8
(maximum %)
Acid-insoluble
ash (maximum
3.0
3.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
%)
Salt (as NaCl)
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
0.6
(maximum %)
Source: BIS. Poultry feeds - specifications, fourth revision.
11
18
8
4.0
0.6
Table 6b
BIS standards, poultry feed declaration
requirements
Characteristic Broiler Broiler Chick Growing Laying Breeder
starter finisher feed chicken chicken layer
feed feed
feed
feed
feed
Calcium (Ca)
1.2
1.2
1.0
1.0
3.0
3.0
(maximum %)
Available
phosphorus
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
(minimum %)
Lysine
0.65
1.2
1.0
0.9
0.6
0.65
(maximum %)
Methionine
0.50
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.30
0.30
(maximum %)
Metabolizable
energy
2 800
2 900 2 600
2 500
2 600
2 600
(minimum
cal/kg)
Source: BIS. Poultry feeds - specifications, fourth revision.
Table 6c
BIS standards, poultry feed requirements for
minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and vitamins
Characteristic Broiler Broiler Chick Growing Laying Breeder
starter finisher feed chicken chicken layer
feed feed
feed
feed
feed
Manganese
(mg/kg)
Iodine (mg/kg)
Iron (mg/kg)
Zinc (mg/kg)
Copper (mg/kg)
Vitamin A
(IU/kg)
Vitamin D3
(IU/kg)
Thiamine
(mg/kg)
Riboflavin
(mg/kg)
Pantothenic
acid (mg/kg)
Nicotinic acid
(mg/kg)
Biotin (mg/kg)
90
90
90
50
55
90
1
120
60
12
1
120
60
12
1
120
60
12
1
90
50
9
1
75
75
9
1
90
100
12
6 000 6 000
6 000
8 000
8 000
6 000
600
600
600
600
1 200
1 200
15
15
15
15
15
15
40
40
40
15
15
15
0.2
0.2
0.02
0.15
0.15
0.20
Vitamin B12
0.015
0.015 0.015
0.01
0.010
(mg/kg)
Folic
1.0
1.0
1.0
0.5
0.5
acid(mg/kg)
Choline (mg/kg)
1 400
1 000 1 300
900
800
Vitamin E
15
15
15
10
10
(mg/kg)
Vitamin K
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
1.0
(mg/kg)
Pyridoxine
5
5
5
5
5
(mg/kg)
Linoleic acid
1
1
1
1
1
(g/100 g)
Methionine +
cystine (g/100
0.9
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.55
g)
Source: BIS. Poultry feeds - specifications, fourth revision.
0.01
0.5
800
15
1.0
8
1
0.55
The Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers' Association (CLFMA) has prepared its own
specifications, which are shown in Table 7 for cattle and Table 8 for poultry.
Table 7
CLFMA specifications for compound feeds, dairy
cattle and buffaloes
Characteristic
Dairy
special
feed
Moisture (maximum %)
12.0 12.0
12.0
Crude protein (on dm basis)
22.0 20.0
18.0
(minimum %)
Undegraded protein
8.0
--(minimum %)
Crude fat (minimum %)
3.0
2.5
2.5
Crude fibre (maximum %)
7.0
7.0
12.0
Acid-insoluble ash
3.5
4.0
4.5
(maximum %)
Source: CLFMA Standards for Compound Animal Feeds.
Type
III
feed
12.0
16.0
-2.0
14.0
5.0
Table 8
CLFMA specifications for compound
feeds, poultry
Characterist Chic Growe Laye Laye
ic
k
r feed r
r
feed
feed, feed
I
II
Moisture
(maximum %)
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
12
Crude protein
18
14
16
14
20
18
(minimum %)
Fat (maximum
2
2
2
2
3
3
%)
Crude fibre
7
8
8
10
6
5
(maximum %)
Acid-insoluble
ash (maximum
4
4
4
4
4
4
%)
Metabolizable
energy
2 600 2 300 2 500 2 300 2 600 2 700
(minimum
cal/kg)
Source: CLFMA Standards for Compound Animal
Feeds.
18
14
16
16
14
2 600
2 400
2 500
2 500
2 400
The specifications of both BIS and CLFMA are only guidelines and their use as standards is not
compulsory. The animal feed business is competitive and feed manufacturers therefore endeavour to
produce feed of the highest possible quality.
Cattle feed
Cattle feeding practices are very traditional. Farmers choose their own ingredients and prepare their own
formulations, believing that by these means they are able to pay more individual attention to their cattle.
The productivity of the cattle is limited because of their poor genetic make-up, so high-quality compound
feed (industry feed) may not necessarily generate a significant improvement in productivity and this has
hampered growth of the cattle feed industry because most farmers are reluctant to use compound feed
fully. Instead they compromise by using such feed in proportions of 5 to 60 percent, making up the
balance with their own formulations. It is only in the case of highly productive animals that compound
feed has been able to show its real potential and the importance of technology has been demonstrated.
The share of compound cattle feed manufactured by the industry, in relation to the overall potential, is
low for the following reasons:
The cattle population is fragmented and spread over large parts of the country. Farmers' low level
of education and strong traditional beliefs mean that there is generally little awareness of
compound cattle feed.
More than 50 percent of the country's total milk production comes from a very large number of
low-yielding cows and buffaloes. A further 25 percent of milk production comes from buffaloes
and only the remaining 25 percent of the total is produced by cross-bred and improved cows.
Industrially manufactured compound cattle feed has proved its value for cross-bred cows and
buffaloes but not for low-yielding cattle because of their genetic limitations. Home-mixed feed is
very frequently used for buffaloes and low-yielding cattle.
Poultry feed
Poultry feed is divided into layer and broiler feed. In the case of layer feed, cost is the main constraint in
using compound feed. An innovative, high-value compound feed can result in increased numbers of eggs,
but the risks are too high because of the birds' long life cycle.
Compound feed has, however, made a major contribution to broiler feeding. This is an example of
excellent coordination among instrument technology, formulations and use of feed additives and
supplements. Cost is a less important factor because the performance improvements are greater than the
cost increases and the birds' life cycle is short.
Two types of poultry feed are prepared. One is ready-made and in the form of mash or pellets. The
second is in concentrated form for mixing with an energy source. Concentrates are protein sources,
balanced in amino acids and containing vitamins, minerals and feed additives. They are mixed with
energy sources such as maize, sorghum or bajra to prepare poultry rations.
of research, the main focus was on bypass fat and bypass protein utilization in ruminants, and on the role
of various feed additives in enhancing milk, egg and broiler meat production. Research and development
work has been conducted on least-cost formulations and usage of synthetic amino acids.
Table 9
By-products used in animal feed
Forest produce Babul seed, dhaincha seed, puwad seed, patwa seed, sagaon seed, san seed, tulsi seed,
tamarind seed, babul falli, mesta seed
Food industry Biscuit waste, cocoa-shell powder, cocoa beans, maize dust, macaroni waste, issapgul
chhala
Gum and starch industry Guar seeds, guar kurma and chuni, dhaincha kurma, tapioca milk powder,
tapioca spent pulp, maize gluten, maize cake
Fruit and vegetable processing Orange peel, spent lemon, orange waste, jamun seed, potato waste,
tomato waste, mango kernel, pineapple waste, mango seed extraction, coffee waste, extracted tea leaves
Alcohol industry Barley waste, yeast sludge, grape extractions, penicillin residue
Essential oil industry Spent residue of pepper, cardamom and ginger, spent ajwan seed, spent anthia
seed cake
Note: Most of these by-products are used in cattle feed. They are regional and seasonal
and used, always fresh, in small quantities.
Source: Author's selection from various research and published work.
Table 10
Cattle
Poultry
Others
1995
1.50
1.26
1996
1.50
1.40
1997
1.41
1.34
1998
1.46
1.69
1999
1.60
1.90
Source: CLFMA publications on production.
Total
0.05
0.03
0.02
0.03
0.03
2.81
2.93
2.77
3.18
3.53
Table 11
Animal feed potential and the industry's production
Feed type Potential
Industry's
production
(million tonnes)
(million
tonnes)
Cattle feed
Poultry feed
Total
60
9
69
Production as
% of potential
1.6
1.9
3.5
2.6
21.1
5.07
Another feed standards issue that worries both the government and industry is that any changes to
existing standards will be slow and difficult to arrive at because of participative conflicts and various
lobbying groups. However, the industry's principal concern about compulsory standards is that they will
disturb efforts to innovate and upgrade feed production in order to improve the productivity of the
animals. This is because all innovations would have to be passed by BIS, and such a process is likely to
take several years to complete.
Table 12
Import duty rates on amino acids in selected
countries (1998)
Country
Rate
(%)
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Japan
Malaysia
Nepal
Pakistan
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Thailand
India
Source: Information collected by CLFMA from various feed
associations in the other countries.
0
0
0
0
4.0
0
0
5.0
0
39.61
per year; per capita eggs from 40 to 100 per year; and per capita broiler meat from 1 000 to 2
000 g per year.
A major change is occurring in India on the economic front. The country has adopted a model that lies
midway between liberal and public sector production, but growth has been affected by the poor
performance of most of the public sector units, rising government costs and fiscal deficit, and the
economy has suffered. A process of liberalization was set in motion by the government and has been
implemented for the last eight to ten years. This has caused India to open up and invite investment from
multinationals, liberalize imports, reduce government expenditure and remove public sector businesses. It
also means that the days of nationalization, unnecessary government controls and restrictions will soon be
over thanks to progress in the country's economy.
India has entered into an agreement with its trade partners under the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The changes brought about by the liberalization process will be slow but certain. The government is
opening up imports in a phased manner, and it is expected that this process will be completed by April
2003. In the meantime, about 930 items, including agricultural products, will be open for import under
open general licence from April 2001, making it possible to import dressed chicken, milk and milk
products.
Various livestock industry associations have taken issue with such imports in an attempt to protect their
members. If the livestock industry is affected, the feed industry will also be affected. The Government of
India has raised the tariff on all poultry and poultry products from 35 percent to the WTO boundary
level of 100 percent. It therefore appears that there will be a level playing field.