Opportunity for exports

The dreaded mad cow disease of cattle has struck once again, crippling the $93-billion US livestock sector.

The consequential ban on US beef and cattle feed by all major importing countries may cause an estimated annual loss of nearly $8 billion till the damage is effectively controlled. The last epidemic of this disease in Europe in 2000 had forced the UK to spend $7.5 billion for containing the disease alone.

The plight of the US is unlikely to be any different. Significantly, even the Canadian livestock sector is at present nervous in view of the US accusation that the Holstein cow that has been confirmed to have the disease came from Alberta in Canada.

Unless Canada can present a tenable proof of its livestock being free of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, the technical name of the mad cow infection), its beef exports are bound to suffer too. What is worse, the chances of the spread of the disease, especially in the US, are not being ruled out because of the presence of a large number of "downer" animals (that cannot stand or walk) in the US cattle herds.

These animals are known to constitute a significant pathway for the spread of this disease, even according to the stated position of the US department of agriculture. Only 10 -15 per cent of the downer animals are actually tested against BSE in the normal course.

Fortunately, India is among the few countries which are free of BSE that causes central nervous system disorders in cattle and can cause neuro-degenerative diseases among human beings as well.

What is even more significant is that the chances of its spread in India, even if inadvertently imported from abroad, are meagre as bonemeal, the normal carrier of BSE infection, is not commonly fed to cattle here.

However, that does not mean that India need not be cautious against this menace. For, the country has the world's largest cattle population and there is no mechanism in place to deal with it if the disease strikes here.

Indeed, the nightmare of the US, and possibly Canadian livestock sectors can potentially provide an opportunity to India to expand its meat exports. Of course, this is unlikely to happen on its own. For, the first choice of the major meat importing countries like Japan, Korea and Mexico for an alternative beef supplier will be Australia.

In fact, indications to this effect are already there. But, since Australia may not be able to fill the entire gap on a sustained basis, suppliers like India still have a chance to capture at least part of this business and acquire a firm foothold in the international meat market.

But, for doing so, the country's export houses would have to be quick to invest in setting up modern slaughter houses to meet the rather stringent global norms of hygiene and sanitary as well as phyto-sanitary standards.

Most existing abattoirs are unfit even for supplying meat to the domestic market. But, such an investment will yield quick returns, thanks to the country's vast untapped meat production and export potential.