Livestock makes multi-faceted contribution to socio-economic development of rural areas. Due to this inelastic absorptive capacity for labour in the other economic sectors, livestock sector has the scope for generating more employment opportunities, especially for the marginal and small farmers and also landless labourers who own around 70 percent of the country’s livestock. The analysis of exports and imports of the livestock products thus, throws light on the national income which is ultimately owned by these famers. The exercise carried revealed the that- (i) India exported the highest quantity of buffaloe meat (69.50 per cent), (ii) significant growth rates were recorded in the sheep and goat meat (3.88 per cent), animal casings (5.24 per cent) and processed meat (4.09 per cent), (iii) in case of imports, the dairy product ranks Ist in total imports of the country, (iv) natural honey recorded the highest growth (36.12 per cent per annum)in the export, (v) the trade balance of the country showed the trade surplus situation in case of imports and exports of livestock products over the period of six years. The exports and imports of livestock products analysis showed that the Indian exports are on positive move which can be considered in favour of the livestock sector which is comprises of mainly the rural small and marginal farmers. If the benefits of exports are properly streamlined, the incomes of these farmers will definitely get increased to a considerably high level approaching to getting doubled in near future.
