About Industry
Livestock industry (poultry, cattle & aqua)
The livestock industry plays a vital role in India’s agricultural and rural economy. Among its segments, the poultry sector is especially significant, as eggs and poultry meat are rich sources of protein, vitamins, and essential minerals. Eggs are not only nutritious but also one of the most affordable sources of energy and protein. Over the past two decades, the poultry industry—particularly in the private sector—has achieved remarkable growth, making India largely self-sufficient in high-quality breeding stock, modern poultry equipment, medicines, vaccines, and technically skilled manpower.An automatic bagging machine used in cattle or poultry feed production is designed to efficiently package large quantities of feed into bags, which are then sealed, weighed, and prepared for distribution. These machines are tailored to handle bulk, often granular or pelletized, feed materials and streamline the bagging process to meet high production demands typical in agricultural industries.
The Indian poultry sector has been growing at an annual rate of approximately 8–10% over the last decade and over 15% in the past three years. This growth has been supported by increased integration and wider adoption of contract poultry farming. The broiler industry alone is expanding at a rate of 10–12%, with annual meat production reaching nearly 40 lakh tons across the country. Overall, the poultry industry provides direct and indirect employment to around 60 lakh people.
Despite this progress, India’s per capita consumption remains below recommended levels. Current per capita egg consumption stands at approximately 68 eggs per year, while meat consumption is around 3.1 kg per year. These figures are significantly lower than the recommendations of the National Committee of Human Nutrition, which suggests 180 eggs and 10.8 kg of meat per person annually.
With rising demand and consumption, the poultry industry holds strong future potential. However, the sector also faces key challenges such as high feed costs, shortages in corn supply, inadequate cold-chain and transportation infrastructure, vulnerability to disease outbreaks, and highly volatile market realizations that impact cash flows.
The broader livestock industry in India continues to make rapid progress and plays a multifaceted role in supporting rural livelihoods. The livestock sector contributes approximately 4% to India’s GDP and nearly 27% to agricultural GDP. Poultry and dairy are the two major contributors to this growth. Livestock farming also supports employment generation, asset creation, risk mitigation against crop failure, and provides social and financial security to rural households.
India is endowed with vast livestock resources and has the largest population of cattle and buffalo in the world. It also ranks first globally in milk production. By the end of 2016, India’s milk production crossed 155 million tons, driven by various government initiatives aimed at improving animal productivity. Small ruminant farming is also gaining momentum and significantly contributes to rural livelihoods.
India ranks third globally in egg production and fourth in broiler production. The poultry sector has evolved from a backyard activity into a highly organized commercial industry, with participation from large players and widespread implementation of contract farming models. Egg production surpassed 75 billion units in 2016, reflecting steady sectoral growth.
The Indian fishery sector has also shown notable advancement. India ranks second globally in aquaculture production. With increasing global demand and rising per capita consumption, the country has immense potential to further expand its aquaculture industry.
Overall, India has significant potential to increase the consumption and production of animal-based products for both domestic and export markets. However, traditional production systems, low-input practices, and the need for modernization remain key challenges. With per capita consumption of meat, milk, and eggs expected to double in the coming years, India must adopt competitive, efficient, and sustainable production practices. This calls for producing more from less while ensuring quality and safety to meet global standards.
The above information is based on data collected from existing customers and publicly available internet sources and is provided for reference purposes only. As Global Namdhari Engineers (GNE) specializes exclusively in feed mill engineering, the company shall not be held responsible for any discrepancies, outcomes, or decisions arising from the above information.