Changing Growth Trend and Competitiveness in the Trade of Livestock Products in India

Abstract

Global trade in livestock products is expanding rapidly and significantly due to increase in consumer demands linked to growing educational and awareness of consumer, internationalisation of tastes and habits, developments in science and technology and improvements in communication and transportation. In this study, growth trend in the trade of livestock products in India during the last two decades was measured by fitting an exponential time trend of the form and measurement of Export Competitiveness of Indian Livestock Sector by using Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC). From the results, the export of certain livestock products has grown in double digits, which indicates that focus on these products can help in earning more foreign exchange and strengthen the position of India in global livestock trade market. The import of dairy products, eggs, swine meat, poultry meat, natural honey, sheep and goat meat, hides/skin and processed meat has increased its rate from sub-period I to II due to rise in income and changes in dietary preferences have stimulated consumption of livestock products. The NPC value for dairy products was hovered around 1.5 to 2.5. The NPC of swine meat was 0.30 in 1993, which rose to 0.88 in 2011. The NPCs for poultry meat indicate that India has protected poultry sub-sector heavily or the international prices have been depressed due to price distortion in the world market. The NPC values for bovine meat indicate a high export potential, but these have witnessed an increasing trend, indicating erosion of its competitiveness. However, it still hovers around 0.50 and India has much leverage to expand its bovine meat export.