Rising demand for livestock products in India: nature, patterns and implications

With a large population and recent growth in consumer income, India’s demand for food has increased. This study examines the demand for livestock products by Indian consumers, and discusses its implications.

The study shows that:

• there has been a rapid rise in the demand for livestock products in India, and consumer expenditure on livestock products has risen rapidly over recent years
• the major reason behind this is the substantially higher income elasticities of demand for livestock products as compared to other foods
• within the livestock products group, milk and milk products hold the dominant share of 73%, while fish and eggs have much lower shares
• production estimates indicate a good growth for some of the livestock products in India. On the other hand, the demand for livestock products may be expected to rise rapidly
• as a result, India’s rapid rise in the demand for livestock products may far outpace its domestic supply
  

The paper concludes that to meet the fast growing demand for livestock products, India’s domestic supply will be hard pressed and much better production performance is necessary. Otherwise, imports may be required.

Furthermore, India’s rising demand for livestock products also has implications for the broad international community. For example, if any, how much will India need to import from the international market? And if India does import livestock products or animal feeds, what would be the impact on world prices of livestock products and on world prices of feedstuffs?

The document finally invites Australian dairy and beef industries to devote more efforts to their potential markets in India.