LPT 321: Meat Science (1+1)

DOMESTIC SCENE

• The meat industry in India is really concentrated in U. P and Western regions.
• There are about 12 large meat processing plants in India whose turnover ranges from Rs. 10 crores to Rs. 30 crores and about 50-60 small meat processing industries located in these regions.
• Most of these processors depend upon the slaughtering of the cattle at the local municipal slaughterhouses.
• The Asia’s largest slaughterhouse is at Deonar-Greater Mumbai.
• Since many of our slaughterhouses are not properly managed and organised on modern scientific lines, the slaughter of  large number of livestock and proper utilisation of all the by-products profitably  is very difficult to get the competitive price to fight the global competition.
• During the last decade, ten modern abattoir complexes have come up in public sector.
• An equal number have become functional in private sector also.
• Eight new projects on modern mechanized abattoirs were initiated in 1990-91.
• In the Eighth Plan, five private sector export abattoirs are nearing completion.
• These developmental activities are necessary to improve the image of the Indian meat sector.
• Among the large players in the field of meat industry in our country are Allanasons, Alkabeer and Hind Industries - all of them are major export houses.
• Meat industry in India belongs to a handful of business houses in small and medium sectors particularly dominated by one religious group.
• Large corporate houses did not venture in this business at all.
• The only major venture from corporate sector in meat processing was from Brooke Bond.
• In seventies, Brooke Bond had set up a large modern processing plant for export at Aurangabad in Maharashtra.
• The plant had a capacity of handling 500 buffaloes per day and was equipped with the processing facilities to produce blood meal, bone meal, etc.
• The project failed mainly for three reasons –
  • Non - availability of required number of buffaloes everyday.
  • Higher cost of production and therefore difficulty in marketing the same and
  • Marketing problems of by-products
• The plant was finally sold to Allanasons, who are organised well in selling chilled and frozen meat in the Middle East through their own retail outlets located there.