India's Buffalo Meat Export to Surge on Cost Advantage.

COIMBATORE: India, the fourth largest buffalo meat exporter in the world, is looking to cash in on its price advantage to compete in the global market. The Rs 7,000-crore industry has already set its sights on newer markets like CIS countries this year by strengthening infrastructure facilities and quality standards.

Indian buffalo meat is currently exported to 64 countries. Apart from its traditional markets like Egypt, Malaysia, Syria and Jordan, the country also exports huge quantities to Turkey, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. “We have opened new markets at Algeria and we expect to enter CIS countries soon,” said a leading buffalo meat exporter.

According to him, despite increasing cost, Indian buffalo meat is cheaper in the world market. A tonne of Indian buffalo meat is available for $3,000 to $3,500 in Egypt, $2,900 in Malaysia and $2,700 to $2,800 in the Middle East. “The buffalo meat from Brazil is costlier by $800 to $1,000 a tonne compared to the Indian product,” he added.

India’s export has increased from Rs 3,549.78 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 4,839.71 crore in 2008-09. The large volume of beef being exported from India makes it an important factor in considering the global protein situation, said Rabobank Food & Agribusiness Research and Advisory (FAR) general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Justin Sherrard. “The low cost of this product makes it especially attractive in the Middle Eastern and Asian markets, where the product competes on price with chicken,” he added in a Rabobank FAR report.

Rashid Kadimi, president of all India meat and livestock exporters association, and the CEO of processed food division at India’s biggest meat export house, Allanasons, said that the country has recovered from recessionary phase and is expecting a marginal growth in the coming season. Allanasons holds a 40% market share in buffalo meat exports from India. Currently, global demand for the meat is rising in such a pace that it will outstrip supply soon. Factors like a possible demand surge in Europe, and fall in Australian meat production make the prospects of Indian meat exporters very bright.

“The competition will ultimately boil down between India and Brazil,” he said. “However, India, which is exporting nearly five lakh tonne buffalo meat a year, shouldn’t make any compromise on quality,” he added. The country today has 25 most modern integrated slaughter houses-cum-meat processing units. This apart, it also has 60 to 70 separate meat processing units. “The government has already started upgrading the existing slaughter houses to a state-of-the-art infrastructure under public-private partnership,” said an official at APEDA.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com