India's exports performance in poultry products and the potential exports destinations

The study analyzes the trends in the Indian poultry products' exports during the pre- and the post-WTO periods using the Hodrick-Prescott (HP) filtered data. The Simpson Diversity Index (SDI) was used to measure the export diversity, whereas the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and the Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) ratios assessed the competitiveness of poultry products in the international market. India has been highly competitive in the exports of hen-eggs-in-shell and eggs-dried, whereas India needs to maintain its competitive position with respect to eggs-liquid and live-ducks. India could not retain its competitive position in live chicken exports due to the rising production cost coupled with the onslaught of the Avian Influenza (AI) in the recent years. Spreading of the AI put a heavy toll on poultry exports, especially chicken meat and eggs-liquid due to a complete ban on Indian poultry products imposed by many of the importing countries. The SDI indicated that poultry products' exports were more diversified during the post-WTO period. On the basis of the available data on the average ad-valorem applied duties faced by the Most Favoured Nations (MFN), the producers' price in various countries for chicken meat and eggs (hen-egg-in shell) and shipping charges from India to various countries, the lucrative export destinations for such poultry products were identified.