Chennai: The buffalo meat export from India is set to plunge 15 per cent (its lowest in six years) due to clampdown on food smugglingby China – the world No 1 meat consumer, according to a report from All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association.
China does not allow imports of Indian buffalo beef due to fears over foot-and-mouth disease, but the meat is often smuggled into the country through neighbouring nations along with other foods that have also been prohibited by Beijing. The Chinese government has periodically ramped up customs controls over the last few years as it cracks down on these so-called ‘grey trade’ networks.
That has hit demand for India. buffalo meat in places such as Vietnam, where some traders look to resell to clients in China, according to the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association.
“Chinese buying has been very erratic in the last couple of months and that is being reflected in export numbers. Overall buffalo meat exports in the 2018/19 financial year that ends on 31 March could drop 15 per cent from the year before to 1.15 million tonnes, the lowest since 2012/13,” said the vice president at the organisation, Fauzan Alavi.
The vast majority of the beef India exports is buffalo, an animal less venerated than indigenous Indian cows that many view as sacred. India’s buffaloes are mainly used for dairy and are only slaughtered for meat after their milk productivity falls below its peak. That makes the meat produced lower quality than from beef cattle, and is mainly used in processed food, canned goods and low-end dishes.
Generally, the Indian buffalo meat exports is around $4 billion a year. “The slowdown has led to Chinese consumers paying unnecessarily high prices for buffalo meat. Direct trade would help both buyers and sellers,” Alavi said.
Exports have also been hit by several temporary meat plant closures in India in the current financial year that reduced production. Uttar Pradesh, the country’s biggest meat producer, ordered the closure of meat plants during religious festivals as the provincial government, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, drafted policies to protect cattle.