Indian Poultry Sector and WTO: An Analysis for Some Policy Implications and Future Strategies

Livestock sector in India makes significant contribution to the country’s economy. It contributes around 7.5% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and 26% to agricultural GDP (AgGDP) (GOI, 2003). The livestock sector in the last two decades has recorded a growth rate of around 5.2% per annum, which is almost twice that of agricultural sector (Singh, 2002). Poultry occupies a unique position in the livestock economy of India. India ranks 4th in the world in egg production and 8th in poultry meat production. Production and exports of poultry meat have experienced the highest growth rate in the last two decades among meat of all other food animal species. Small stocks of poultry can act as supplementary enterprise for the rural poor, since they cost less to purchase, are of a more convenient size for home consumption or for sale in times of distress and reproduce and grow faster. The present study aims at (i.) analyzing temporal changes in poultry population and production, (ii.) identifying the specific factors of growth in poultry sector and (iii.) assessing temporal changes in the trade profile of the poultry sector.