Indian Poultry Producers Attend Processing Course, Learn Sorghum Application Updates

Earlier this month, the U.S. Grains Council’s (USGC’s) South Asia office led a team of 11 poultry producers to Fayetteville, AR and Houston, TX, where the group learned about poultry processing best practices and economics while also receiving an in-depth look at the sorghum marketing channel.

The team participated in a short course on poultry processing hosted by the University of Arkansas where all aspects of poultry production were discussed including hatcheries, feed milling, nutrition, processing and economics.

“India is currently the world’s fourth largest feed market, and while growing steadily, its future prospects depend on the expansion of the value-added market,” said Reece Cannady, USGC regional director for South Asia.

“Processed poultry products are new to the Indian market and as incomes increase, their consumption will subsequently increase. This course aimed to ensure the profitability of this newfound demand leading to expanded opportunities for U.S. feed grains in India.”

The team continued to Houston where the United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) provided insight during visits to rail terminals, ports and sorghum farms. By incorporating this component, the Council sought to add value for participants by displaying the traceability and quality of U.S. sorghum as a feed ingredient in the poultry industry. India has potential to import U.S. sorghum in the future due to sorghum’s capacity to serves as a non-genetically modified alternative to India’s traditional coarse grains mix.

“The fact that U.S. sorghum is tannin-free is a novel concept to Indian animal feed producers,” Cannady said.

“Traditionally, sorghum may only be included in an Indian feed ration at up to 10 percent, but this program aimed to showcase that U.S. sorghum can be effective at inclusion rates up to 65 percent.”

Learn more about the Council’s work in India here.