Marketing of poultry products in India - An Analysis

• Marketing plays an important role in the economic system of a country .It ensures full and complete flow of products continuously from the centres of production to the centres of consumption.
• A complete and continuous flow of products from the producers to the consumers contributes to the maintenance of high level of economic activity.
• Efficient marketing of poultry products is a strong bridge between production and consumption.
• It contributes to the avoidance of cyclical fluctuation like boom and depression and in the promotion of economic activity.
• Importance of poultry marketing Efficient and effective marketing of poultry products is essential to provide reasonable returns to rural producers, which they find it extremely difficult to get from small poultry units.
• Marketing of poultry products involves all the functions and processes taking place soon after bird lays egg.
• Various marketing functions are performed continuously.
• The poultry marketing provides gainful employment to millions of people and thereby increases income of the people.
• Effective marketing of poultry products enhances the in demand for poultry products, thereby creating employment opportunities to rural masses.
• It also improves the income level and standard of living of poultry farmers. Amino acid, fatty acid, vitamins, minerals etc are essential for the growth and maintenance of physical existence.
• These vitamins and minerals are rich in egg and poultry meat.
• Poor people can easily obtain these nutrients at a lesser cost.
• Marketing of poultry products makes available the poultry products at the right time, right place, in right quantity and at right price.
• Poultry is marketed in the country in various forms and conveniences to suit consumers choice.
• The main stumbling block in the marketing of poultry and egg is its perishability.
• The Nutritional Advisory Committee of India has recommended half an egg daily, per person, for maintenance of normal health.
• To meet this recommended consumption requires more than 99,000 million eggs per year.
• Thus, by marketing the poultry products throughout the country, malnutrition can be avoided.
• But, in India, there exists no such efficient and organised market.
• Now, the planners have to be attentive on the development of adequate arrangements for marketing of eggs and other poultry products.

Marketing System of Poultry Products

• Presently, there is no network for marketing of eggs and poultry products.
• Poultry marketing is predominantly in the hands of private traders and commission agents operating in various metropolitan cities and other leading towns.
• As commented by Chandan S.S.I, the wholesale trade of eggs in big cities of the country is in the hands of a few traders who have monopolized this trade to their own advantage resulting in neither the poultry farmers getting proper remuneration of the produce, nor the consumer getting egg at reasonable rate.
• According to a study made in 15 states, over 60 to 70 per cent of the population consume less than the minimum requirement of protein and calories, leading to imbalance in protein and calories arid consequent health problems, especially in growing children.
• In order to keep away the spectre of malnutrition, an organized poultry marketing is very essential.
• Organized marketing system contributes to the rise in the standard of living on the society by identifying the needs of the society, which would ensure required supply of poultry products in the country.
• Above all, it ensures supply of essential nutrients required to every individual to keep the ideal body.

Channels of Distribution

• Nearly 75 per cent of the total poultry products are being sold through various channels of distribution, as a result, consumers pay more money while producers get less margin.
• A major share of consumers rupee goes to middlemen.
• The present channels of distribution of poultry products in the Indian poultry market are:

  1. Producer- Consumer
  2. Producer -Wholesaler -Retailer- Consumer
  3. Producer -Collector -Assembly Merchant - Consumer
  4. Producer- Retailer

• Consumer Major portion of eggs and meat are marketed through the above indicated Channel No.2.
• Direct marketing is much better than all other channels (No.1), wherein, both farmers and consumers are benefited.
• In Channel No.4, about 12 to 15 per cent of consumer's rupee is shared by the retailers.
• While in Channel No.2, about 26% of the consumer's rupee is shared by middlemen.

Organizational Structure of Poultry Marketing

• There are two private sector organizations, which represent the poultry community.
• These organisations are:
  
  
  1. National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC)
  2. Agro-corpex India Limited
     
     
• At the central level, we have National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation which is operating in many parts of the country.
• Many a state government also have organisations operating with similar objectives, e.g., MAFCO, MAPDEC, TAPCO etc.
• All these institutions can work together for common objectives.
• A state of mutual trust and mutual dependence can be created through inter-linking representations.
• For example, NECC can have representatives of these organisations in its executive committee: Agro-corpex can have some of these people in its board of directors, and, similarly, these institutions can have some representatives of NECC and Agro- corpex in their governing bodies also.
• Such an arrangement will give rise to uniformity in their objectives and a symbolic relationship.