“Revenue from buffalo exports has the potential to grow from over $4 billion currently to $10 billion in the next five years. But if there is no handholding by the government at least on the policy side, this will be affected,” said Fauzan Alavi, spokesperson at the All India Meat and Livestock Exporters Association. The new agriculture export policy does not have much for the meat and livestock segment, he added.
“Nowhere in the world can farmers’ income be doubled without giving the right importance to the livestock sector. It is the livestock sector that provides the extra income. How does a farmer supplement his income when the crops are failing? When the policy is not reaching the right beneficiary, then how does it improve?,” he asked.
Apart from meat, the main byproduct is the raw buffalo hide which has a “huge demand internationally”, but attracts an export duty of 60 per cent. This is in contrast to nine per cent levied in Brazil, five per cent in Argentina and Uruguay, and zero duty in Australia and the UK, Alavi said. Before the export policy was unveiled yesterday, AIMLEA had requested the government, as it had been doing for four years, to remove the duty.
There is demand for raw buffalo hide in the international market where the price is, on an average, 30-40 per cent higher price than in the domestic market,” he said.
“Removal of export duty on buffalo hides will give us a cushion of ₹12-15 per kg and help us remain competitive globally.” Such an export duty is “unheard of” and “violates WTA norms”, he added.
The government should enable market access by being “more aggressive” while dealing with bilateral transactions, he said. “If market access is enabled to China, Thailand and to the wet markets of Iran, Russia and Philippines, then we can be the biggest agri exports of the country,” he said.
The current access of India’s buffalo meat to Iran, Russia and the Philippines is only for processing.
The access to the wet market of Thailand is also pending. “China is the biggest market in the world and we do not have direct access,” he added. A focus on disease control is also important, he said.
While every commodity in agri-exports is covered by the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), buffalo exports are excluded, Alavi pointed out. He added that though they don’t want any financial support from the government, it is “unfair that even basmati, non-basmati and marine categories get it.”
The buffalo export segment is already being affected as it is down by around 10 per cent from last year. Earlier, the competitors were Brazil, Argentina and Australia. Their currencies have now devalued and unlike the marketing quality and support given by the Brazil government, the Indian industry doesn’t get much support, he added.
From India, only buffalo meat gets exported, with small quantities of lamb and sheep, that add up to ₹500-700 crore.