The Indian poultry industry is likely to face competition from cheap chicken leg imports from the US which could soon flood the market if the government is not able to come up with fresh reasons why poultry from the world’s largest producer should not be allowed.
China has restricted import of chickens from US on the grounds that they have to be free from Avian Flu, a plea that India had also attempted with little success. The WTO had ruled that India’s ban on US poultry items on the ground of checking spread of avian influenza was not based on science and has to be scrapped. Now India has 18 months to implement the decision or come up with fresh reasons to be able to continue restrictions.
The Indian poultry industry has decided to take up the plea that chicken fed on GM corn cannot be allowed into the country. How can the government permit chicken fed on GM corn when the import of GM corn itself is not allowed into the country, said Balram Yadav, MD, Godrej Agrovet and a member of the industry association. The cost of drumsticks in India is around Rs150-160 per kg and if the American drumsticks are allowed into the country, they will cost around Rs50-60 per kg, a move that will hurt the entire industry and farmers, he said.
The government is supposed to frame guidelines within 18 months of the WTO ruling of which 6 months have already passed. One year remains for the Animal Husbandry department to come out with specifications for the import of chicken. The industry that met government authorities at the Poultry Expo 2015 on Tuesday has decided to stick to the plea that chicken fed on GM corn/soya cannot be allowed into the country or companies wanting to export chicken into India should declare that chicken has not been fed on GM corn, he pointed out.
The commerce ministry had asked poultry associations to examine the feasibility of restrictions such as banning of chicken which are fed on genetically modified food or ones that are kept frozen for long periods. Chicken prices are already 20% below the cost of production. Production is likely to go down if imports are allowed since the cost to feed has also gone up, he said.
Around 60%-70% of the corn and soya meal is consumed by the poultry industry. “We are in a unique situation where the cost of feed is going up and the cost of animal feed is going down. Cost of chicken is 20% lower than the cost of production. Because of rural distress due to drought, the demand has gone down and rural consumption has gone down. Therefore supply is outstripping demand. It may take another 6-8 weeks for correction to happen,” Yadav said.