Telangana, a State of meat lovers to become top meat producer too

Telangana government is now making efforts to increase meat production in the State by a chunky 60 percent in next five years

Hyderabad: A State with a capital that swears by biryani, Telangana’s love for meat is no secret. With latest figures showing that a staggering 98.7 percent of the State’s population comprised meat lovers, the State government is now making efforts to increase meat production in the State by a chunky 60 percent in next five years.

According to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest Handbook of Statistics on Indian States, meat production in Telangana has already seen a significant rise from 5.05 lakh tonnes in 2014-15 to 10.15 lakh tonnes in 2021-22. Currently, Telangana stands fifth in meat production in the country.

Even meat consumption per person has shot up sharply in Telangana in the last eight years, going up from 12.95 kg per person per annum in 2014-15 to 21.17 kg in 2021-22. India’s meat consumption is currently 4.5 kg per capita, according to data from the National Family Health Survey and the State Animal Husbandry Department.

According to Telangana Veterinary and Animal Husbandry director Dr S Ramchander, half of the total meat production in the State is contributed by poultry (44%), followed by sheep (32%), buffalo (14%) and goats (8%). The demand for mutton is so high that there is no scope for export, he stated.

The Sheep Distribution Scheme has played a vital role in increasing meat production in the State. Ever since the scheme was launched by Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao in June 2017, there has been a substantial increase in meat production. In just four years, this has reached 10.5 lakh tonnes from 7.54 lakh tonnes. Apart from increasing meat production, a new wealth of Rs.7,920 crore has been created due to the sheep distribution scheme, Dr Ramchander stated.

Import comes down

The import of meat has come down by 80 percent in the last two years, says Dr Ramchander. Earlier, over 500 truckloads of sheep and cattle used to come to Telangana as there was shortage of meat. This has plummeted to about 90 trucks now. The State government is expecting a 60 percent increase in sheep production in the next five years, he said.

Hyderabad leads in consumption, supply

Most of the meat produced in the State and imported is consumed in Hyderabad. Everyday about 15,000 sheep are slaughtered in Hyderabad to be supplied to hotels, restaurants and individual consumption, Dr Ramchander said, adding that Telangana was a state of meat lovers with meat worth about Rs 58,000 meat is consumed in the State per annum.

In fact, Hyderabad has become a central market for meat supply as all the meat supplied from Northern States are stored in Hyderabad and supplied to Southern States like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

With the distribution of 73.50 lakh sheep in the next phase of the Sheep Distribution Scheme, there would be substantial increase in the availability of meat in the State, officials said, adding that the State would be among the first three meat producing States in next three years.

Meat production in the country too has increased from 6.69 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 8.80 million tonnes in 2020-21. India ranks third in production of eggs and eight in meat production in the world.

NFHS survey counters false narrative

Against the false narrative that non-vegetarians are a small minority in India, a study by National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) shows that during the last eight years, the percentage of Hindu meat-eaters in men and women has increased from 44.4 percent to 52.5 percent and 38.3 percent to 40.7 percent respectively.

It has been found that over 70 percent of the people in India prefer non-vegetarian food. Surveys show that only 16.6 percent of men and 29.4 percent of women have never eaten non-veg in India. In fact, as per NFHS-5 out of two in three Indians are meat eaters.

Among States, Telangana tops the list of meat eating with 98.70 percent, closely followed by West Bengal 98.55 and Andhra Pradesh 98.25 percent.

In Telangana, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar, the proportion of non-vegetarians was found to be more than 97 per cent, whereas Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan have the least non-vegetarian population. Interestingly, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled States like Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh too have seen an increase in meat eating population.

Vegetarian Population

India is often misperceived as a majority vegetarian nation, but according to NFHS-5 data, only 30 percent of Indians above the age of 15 are vegetarian. Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat and Rajasthan have the least non-vegetarian population (below 40 per cent). Rajasthan has the highest number of vegetarians, followed by Haryana and Punjab. Interestingly, none of the South Indian states figured in the list of vegetarian states. The national average of vegetarians stood at 29 percent.