During the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Roundtable on poultry and animal feed ensuring feed security and sustainable growth of India’s poultry sector, CII study paper ‘Unlocking the potential of India’s poultry sector for Viksit Bharat 2047’, reflecting the sector’s growing importance in India’s economic development, nutrition security and rural livelihoods, was released by Chief Guest Dr Naveena B Maheswarappa, Animal Husbandry Commissioner at the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, India’s Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, along with:
Poultry feed as a strategic food-security use
In the CII study paper, CII has recommended formal recognition of poultry feed as a strategic food-security use and the need for creation of joint government/industry body for real time monitoring for production and disease surveillance.
The poultry sector, estimated at around USD 30 billion, supports close to 5 million livelihoods plus people across production, processing and ancillary services, while delivering affordable protein with a relatively low environmental footprint.
The poultry sector plays a critical pillar of India’s food system, rural livelihoods, and nutritional security. Poultry meat production of 11 million tons alone accounts for major share of India’s total meat production. India is also the world’s second largest egg producer, with output surpassing 149 billion eggs.
The poultry sector is deeply interlinked with crop agriculture, particularly through its dependence on feed. Feed accounts for 65-70% of total poultry production costs, with maize and soybean meal being the major components.
These strong inter-dependencies also expose the poultry sector to volatility in feed availability and prices. The CII report has highlighted the most pressing structural challenge faced by the poultry industry is feed supply.
Rising diversion of maize towards ethanol production and fluctuations in soybean meal prices have intensified cost pressures in recent years. This growing competition for feed resources highlights the importance for improvements in feed efficiency and innovations in feed formulation. Soybean meal and maize availability is subject to sharp seasonal price swings.
Together, these pressures compress margins across all production categories and threaten the affordability of poultry products for consumers.
The CII report has stated that rising temperatures are increasing heat stress in open-sided poultry sheds, reducing growth rates and egg production. Climate variability is also disrupting maize and soybean supply, raising mycotoxin contamination risks in stored grain.
Establishment of a joint government-industry standing committee
The report has recommended establishment of a joint government-industry standing committee to reconcile official and industry production data and develop real-time monitoring systems, strengthening animal health and disease surveillance systems.
The development of a transparent framework to balance maize use between the feed and ethanol sectors, with formal recognition of poultry feed as a strategic food-security use and rationalizing GST on soybean meal and value-added poultry products, are some of the measures the government must initiate, the CII stated.
Establishing a dedicated national-level poultry sector institution
For the long term, the report calls for establishing a dedicated national-level poultry sector institution, similar to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) or the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), to provide sustained policy coordination, research, and market promotion.
The report also stressed the establishment of digital traceability across the value chain and embedding feed security formally into national agricultural planning frameworks.
The importance of collaborative efforts
The discussions highlighted the importance of collaborative efforts between government and industry to build a resilient, sustainable, and globally competitive poultry sector that contributes meaningfully towards the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
My sincere thanks to AV Rajamany, Director of CII Food & Agriculture Centre of Excellence (FACE), for organizing this insightful roundtable and creating a valuable platform for meaningful dialogue and networking among industry stakeholders.
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