India: Livestock and Products Semi-annual

FAS New Delhi (Post) forecasts India's market year (MY) 2024 (January-December) cattle herd at 307.42 million head, up marginally from 307.4 million head in 2023. A gradual pace of growth is likely to persist in the short- to medium-term. Government policy and focused action are propelling this growth. The production of Indian carabeef (i.e., meat derived from the Asian domestic water buffalo) is supplying domestic and international demand. Post estimates in MY 2024 carabeef production at 4.61 million metric tons (MMT) on a carcass-weight-equivalent (CWE) basis, compared to 4.47 MMT in 2023. Domestic consumption is likely to grow to 2.97 MMT in 2024, up from 2.92 MMT in 2023. Exports are expected to jump to 1.64 MMT in 2024, up from 1.55 MMT in 2023.