With growing urbanization and increasing quality consciousness, the market for scientifically produced poultry and meat products is expected to grow rapidly. There is also a growing demand for ready to eat and semi processed meat products as a result of changing lifestyles.

Potential of Poultry Industry:

• The Indian poultry sector is poised for dramatic growth. Rising
incomes will rapidly drive its growth over the next decade, changing the nature of the industry and building it into one of the India’s largest food sectors.

• According to the Indian branch of the World Poultry Science Association, the poultry industry has been growing at an annual rate of 20%. This makes it the fastest growing segment of India’s agriculture sector. By 2005, it is estimated to emerge as a 270 billion rupees (US $ 6.75 billion) industry. By 2015, the demand for eggs is expected to shoot up to 180 billion from the current 26.13 billion.

• Demand for poultry products is closely linked to increasing consumer incomes, which has the potential to raise poultry production to 6.0 million MT annually by 2005.

Key Features of poultry products of the state:

• Availability of eggs: The state is one of the largest egg producers in the country. The per-capita availability of eggs in the state is higher than the corresponding India figure. But even with a higher availability of eggs in the state and producing around 8% of India’s total egg production, the demand outstrips the supply of eggs in the state. 30% of the egg requirement has to be imported from other states, thereby highlighting the big gap between demand & supply of eggs in the state as well as drawing attention to the enormous prospects of investment in this sector.

Source: Animal Resources Development Department, Govt. of West Bengal

• Poultry Meat: Over time, poultry meat is becoming more popular in West Bengal. Poultry meat consists of 30% of total meat production. West Bengal has a higher per capita consumption of poultry meat. The broiler production in the state in the year 2002-03 was 638 lakh.

The poultry sector in the state can become a major exporter of processed poultry & duck meat, provided the breeders adopt innovative & concerted measures. Entrepreneurs are already showing the way by establishing integrated chains covering sourcing of exotic parent stock, hatcheries, supply of hatching eggs & chicks along with feed, backup services by way of health coverage & advice on management practices, assured buyback arrangements, etc. which is boosting the sector to grow and look up.

State Initiatives in the Poultry sector:

• The 22 State Poultry Farms under the State Government try to maintain layer parent stock and sell hatching eggs and day-old chicks.

• The State Government also encourages the poor farmers to take up poultry farming by distributing exotic/improved cocks/drakes to them.

• Attempts are also being made to promote the rearing of hybrid layers by unemployed youths. Cross-breeding with these improved varieties of cocks/drakes is increasing the productivity of the poultry population in the state.

• Distribution of breeding cocks, ducks and supply of hatching eggs and improved stock like Khaki Campbell ducks from state poultry and duck farms has resulted in breed upgradation and increase in production in West Bengal.

A Point to be noted by the Investor:

• Future growth in the poultry sector will be strongly linked to making feed available at the right price. This will be the biggest challenge for any player who wants to enter the sector. The key to being able to do this is integration. As a result, one of the most notable changes in the industry will be in terms of its scale. Whereas currently all the existing players in this sector are fairly small in size, those who succeed in reducing costs will be able to build on a scale unprecedented in the industry.

• Activity in the poultry sector needs to be changed dramatically to be able to cater to increasing urbanisation, rising middle classes, greater mobility and changing consumption patterns in the future. The spread of fast food retailing will mean that the rejection rates (from birds not conforming to exact size, weight & colour specifications) will become much higher than today so that these suppliers will need to grow 2-3 times the requirements in the future. To make the future poultry units viable, the market for these additional birds will simultaneously need to be developed (chilled or frozen birds or bird parts from retail stores).