Indians love chicken meat, a reason you may want to venture into chicken rearing for meat production on a retail or commercial scale. The country is ranked as the seventh globally in terms of poultry production, at about 4 to 7 million metric tons last year.
Furthermore, poultry meat serves 36% of all meat consumer needs in the country, which tells of its huge marketability in the country. Nevertheless, identifying the best opportunities in meat poultry rearing in the country will boost profitability at your poultry farm. Organized poultry farming makes up 80% of the total market share.
Here are some of the areas to consider when rearing chicken for meat production in India. These are the places to target and find a ready market for chicken meat.
- Haryana – It is the top poultry meat-producing state in India at 0.352 million metric tonnes.
- West Bengal – West Bengal produces about 0.328 million metric tonnes of poultry meat in India.
- Uttar Pradesh – Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of meat in India, producing 23% of the total meat from all sources. That’s over 1.2 million metric tonnes. It ranks third in the top poultry meat-producing states in the country at 0.27 million metric tonnes.
The other states leading in poultry meat production in the country area – Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
India also exports meat to Vietnam, Malaysia, Egypt, Thailand, and Saudi Arabia.
Poultry industry players
There are opportunities in new technology for processing meat and poultry, modern abattoirs, cold chains, new veterinary technologies, chicken franchises, and meat testing labs.
Other opportunities arise in terms of new value-added products like frozen meat, chilled meat products, RTC/RTE, Indian ethnic products, and snacks. Other products include egg powders, new feed formulations, and hatcheries.
Breeds to target for meat production
Most of the chicken meat comes from improved backyard varieties and the private sector. Some of the indigenous chicken meat breeds include Ankaleshwar, Busra, Chittagong (Malay), Danki, Daothigir, and Ghagus. The country being non-GMOs means the indigenous breeds are also common for commercial sector which is flourishing.
The Upkari, which is native to India, is also one of the top meat-producing breeds. We also have Harringhata Black, Kadaknath, Kalasthi, Kashmir Favorolla, Miri, Nicobari, Punjab Brown, Tellichery, Mewari, and Kaunayen chickens which are native to India and common for the retail and commercial markets.
Other breeds are Plymouth Rock, Aseel, Frizzle, and Nacked Neck have also been mentioned concerning meat production in India. Other chicken breeds commonly reared for meat production in India are the Cornish Cross -- the Indian game is a British breed of game chicken. It originated in the early 19th century in the counties of Cornwall and Devon in South West England. It is a heavy, muscular bird with an unusually broad breast. The Orpington is also a dual-purpose breed reared both for meat and eggs.
