Americans like Breast - Indians like Legs - What next?

Americans like Breast - Indians like Legs

What we should do?

 

I am not making any vulgar statement or trying to create sensation by this statement - I am just narrating the facts which is the talk to every event organized by poultry industry in India. 

India’s import restrictions on chicken legs and some other farm products from the US on fears that “low-intensity” bird flu can affect public health are not in line with multilateral trade rules, a World Trade Organization panel has ruled. 

This means India will now not be able impose restrictions on imports of farm products, including poultry products, from countries reporting low-intensity bird flu on health grounds which would in turn open the Indian market to low-priced chicken legs from the US and potentially opening up an estimated $300 million a year export market for the United States.  U.S. chicken exports to India more likely after WTO ruling.

Chicken Trade:

Based on the consumer preference Chicken industry develops and segregated the cuts. Based of the demand and its importance, poultry of cuts are priced. According to trade estimates, Americans prefer breast meat whereas Indian love chicken legs.

Because of consumption preferences, chicken legs will be in demand and expensive in India and Chicken breast will be in demand and expensive in America. 

Indian Industry is worried about import of Chicken legs from USA will come to India which will be at throw away price and will seriously impact poultry trade in India.

What is the ground reality?

No doubt, threat is very real because chicken legs are one of the low cost items in US chicken industry. Consumption of chicken legs is very limited in US. Major trading partners like Russia are also not buying chicken legs from US. USA is desperately looking for consumption market for their surplus Chicken legs. WTO ruling came at a time when USA was badly looking for some way out for their surplus chicken legs. They can cross subsidize the legs buy selling breast at premium price in their domestic markets.

What Indian Poultry should do now?

For every challenge there has to be suitable and effective response. In my view, we must consider following points.

Food safety Risk in US poultry industry is very high. The leading source of identified salmonella illness in the U.S remained chicken in 2014, with Foster Farms continuing to produce and sell chicken linked to at least 7 strains of Salmonella Heidelberg – many of them antibiotic resistant. At present, at least 600 victims have been identified in the long running Salmonella Heidelberg outbreak linked to Foster Farms chicken in about 29 states. But Tyson Farms was also implicated in the spread of Salmonella Heidelberg, with the CDC tracing at least 9 illnesses at a Tennessee Correctional Facility to Tyson brand chicken. Even though incarcerated, this outbreak became publicized after inmates were forced to seek medical attention. But there were also chicken-related salmonella outbreaks linked to other strains of salmonella. In Minnesota health officials identified Salmonella Enteriditis cases linked to Antioch Farms brand A La Kiev raw stuffed chicken breasts, which are sold frozen. The official CDC numbers likely represent only a small portion of the actual number of victims, many of whom do not seek medical attention.

Now question is, do we have food safety standards to prevent contaminated chicken entrying into India.

What should be done?

1. Indian Poultry leaders should show leadership. It is high time that fragmented Indian poultry industry should learn to work together and come out form their own historic differences, else all will suffer collectively.

2. Authorities must develop systems to ensure that only safe poultry products are offered to Indian consumers. Do not get carried away that products from western world is always good and safe. Risk and hazards exist all over the world.

3. Take the fight to opponent's camp. If US is exporting Chicken legs to India, Indian industry should gear up to export Chicken Breast to US markets. If we are low cost producer and transport cost is same. We should learn to deal with non-tariff barriers imposed by USA.

Can Indian Poultry Industry live-up to the new challenge. 

Let us wait and see what and how our poultry leaders will respond to the new situation.

If you have any suggestion do write in the comments section.