Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru College of Agriculture and Research Institute, Karaikal - 609 603, Union Territory of Puducherry.
The importance of livestock sector in the economy can be underpinned by the increasing share of the sector in the agricultural and total GDPs of the economy. The distinctive feature of the Indian poultry sector is its high productivity and competitiveness. This paper has assessed the performance and prospects of poultry sector in India. The share of four southern states, viz. Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, which was about 37 per cent of production in 1992, has increased to about 46 per cent in 2003. Poultry meat has shown an increasing rate in production of about 1011 per cent, though with high instability. The rural-urban differential in expenditure on meat, fish and eggs has been found to narrow down. Maize alone has accounted for about 50 per cent of the feed rations and the important issue is low productivity. With the exception of live poultry, all other categories of exports have witnessed a reasonable growth in the post-WTO period. One inherent characteristic of poultry exports is the high instability in all the periods, though it declined during the 1990s and the post-WTO period. The development of poultry value chain through investments, starting from production of maize and soyabean to distribution and retailing of poultry products in national and international markets need to be initiated for the sustainable growth of this sector.
