Top Buffalo Meat Shipper India Keen to Fill Global Shortage
Exports by India are set to jump as a drop in beef production in Australia and shutdowns in North America create a shortage
(Bloomberg) -- Buffalo meat exports by top producer India are set to jump to countries in Asia as a drop in beef production in Australia and shutdowns in North America create a shortage of bovine protein.
Shipments may climb as much as 15% in the year that started in April from 1.16 million metric tons in the previous 12 months, said Fauzan Alavi, vice president of the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association. Among top destinations are Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam.
“India can meet the current shortage in the global market caused by the coronavirus pandemic,” Alavi said in an interview Tuesday. “We are all set and prepared to be the biggest and best suppliers of organic bovine meat to the world” once the lockdown ends, he said.
Exporters will benefit from a slump in beef production in Australia, shutdowns in North America and infections at plants in Brazil, which together represent about two thirds of global trade. Indonesia is set to buy 170,000 tons of buffalo meat from India, while illegal shipments to China through Vietnam will also probably increase this year, Alavi said.
Processors are waiting for livestock markets to restart as a nationwide lockdown restricts the movement of animals, Alavi said. Farmers in some states including Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have some 1.6 million buffaloes worth about 40 billion rupees ($528 million) to send to slaughterhouses, Alavi said. It will take about 35 days, faster than normal, to process the animals because of the rising demand, he said.
“We’re not in a position to commit to our buyers a date of delivery until free movement of livestock is allowed,” Alavi said. Reopening animal markets will help farmers earn some cash at a time when demand for agricultural commodities such as fruits, vegetables and milk has fallen, he said.
Transport of livestock is difficult as there is no clarity on who will give permission, said Sirajuddin Qureshi, managing director of Hind Agro Industries Ltd. Farmers are concerned because they don’t know what will happen, while state governments are not taking any steps to ease the situation, he said.
“Like other exporters of agricultural commodities, we have lost an opportunity to export more than 40 billion rupees worth of buffalo meat in the last 45 days,” Alavi said. “If the government can push China into buying meat directly from us, that would be a great thing.”
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