American chicken legs pose threat to Indian poultry market

Hyderabad, June 10 ,2015: American chicken products will flood Indian market if the government lifts ban on meat imports from US in the wake of a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling. As per the ruling, India should lift ban against US Chicken imports by January 2017. Americans usually consume breast chicken which has less fat than chicken legs. Thousands of tonnes of chicken leg pieces are lying in cold storages in America and MNCs are trying to dump the chicken legs in India once the ban is lifted. According to industry source, American frozen chicken legs would be supplied at Rs 40 per kg much lower than ones in India and it would eat into the domestic market. The Indian government is planning to revise guidelines for importing meat and chicken so that American chicken legs which were stored in cold storage for 4 to 5 years and meat produced by feeding Genetically Modified (GM) food can be banned. India stands in second place in the world in production of eggs and third place in production of chicken. If American chicken is allowed into the country, it will pose threat to livelihood of 50 lakh people who are depending on the sector. India earlier banned American chicken citing Bird Flu outbreak.