MUMBAI: India has the world’s largest bovine population at an estimated 304 million head (cattle and water buffalo) and has a strong presence in South-East Asia and the Middle East regions. This is mainly driven by the domestic growth in the dairy sector as private investment and government support increases. Beef and Indian buffalo meat production is expected to reach 4.25 million tonnes cwt in 2017 and increase by 1.2 per cent in 2018, to 4.3mt cwt. Indian buffalo meat shipments are expected to rise in 2018 driven by demand from the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia, however, volumes are to forecast to remain below the 2014 peak. The Indian beef and buffalo meat sector remains a volatile market and is highly vulnerable to domestic and international trade regulations. The bovine industry has developed in India despite the fact that slaughtering cows and consuming beef/buffalo meat goes against most of India’s culture and Hindu religion. Most Indian States restrict or prohibit the slaughter of cattle due to religious sensitivies, so India’s meat sector mainly depends on slaughter of unproductive water buffalo cows and bulls from the dairy sector. As water buffalos account for about 45pc of the dairy herd in India, the growth in Indian buffalo meat production is largely driven by the expanding dairy industry.
DRI busts smuggling rackets, seizes 31kg gold
VIJAYAWADA: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) seized 31.5 kg gold worth 13.3 crore in the last three days. DRI...
