Beef consumption in India becoming popular: USDA

NEW DELHI: Beef consumption is becoming more popular in India as a source of protein intake as some pulses have become costlier than the meat, says the American Agriculture Department. " Beef (buffalo meat) is increasingly becoming popular as a protein source compared to pulses, some of which have become more expensive than buffalo meat," the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report. In its 'India Livestock and Products Annual 2008', USDA said both poultry and buffalo meat have "no specific religious sentiments attached" to their consumption.

However, the US body quoting Census of India also said Hindus who comprises around 80 per cent of the total population do not consume beef, while 13 per cent Muslims do not eat pork. "Nevertheless, the younger generation is changing their food habits to non-vegetarian and other processed foods. Consequently, with rising income levels, domestic meat consumption has the potential to rise further," it noted. Buffalo and poultry meat is popular in India because of their price competitiveness, it added.

Beef consumption is forecast to increase by five per cent to 1.94 million tons during 2009 from the previous year. The report also said per capita beef consumption is estimated at 1.6 kg compared to 1.8 kg for poultry meat.

"Beef consumption continues to rise as it remains the cheapest of all the meats available in the domestic market," it said. The per capita meat consumption in India is estimated at 5.5 kg per year, which is much lower than 10.8 kg per year as recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), USDA said.