Sheep and goats need meaty ideas

Regardless of India being the world’s largest exporter of sheep and goat meat, these small but highly valuable animals remain mostly neglected in livestock development programmes. Official estimates show that nearly 9,600 tonnes of sheep and goat meat, worth around Rs 537.2 crore ($66.92 million), was exported in 2022-23 to destinations like the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, the Maldives, and Oman.

The domestic consumption of both mutton (sheep meat) and chevon (goat meat) is also steadily increasing despite their prices being far higher than the meat of chickens, buffaloes, and pigs. The net worth of the sheep and