Tamil Nadu Emu Scams and its aftermath

 

In continuation with my last post Shake-up in Tamil Nadu, I am going to analyze some of the outcomes of this episode, created by Susi Emu Farms, and KG Bright, etc.

There are 36,000 farmers, with an average investment of Rs.1,50,000/-, have been duped as per the Government of Tamil Nadu reports. The scam amount is very high, approximately, Rs.600 Crores. The largest ever in India in the history of Agricultural Commercial Sector.

Mr. Guru, MD of Susi Emu Farms

 
These events are currently happening in Tamil Nadu:

1. The feed for the birds is supposedly to be provided by the Contracting companies. These    companies has folded up, and No feed is received by Farmer. Farmers, as they used to grow animals in their backyard, couldn't tolerate the hunger of Emu birds. They are spending from their own pocket. The cost of feed is Rs.20/Kg per bird per day, which is unsustainable for a Farmer.
2. Farmers wanted to cash-out their Emu birds, since they are left with that as their only collateral against this scam. Everyone wants to sell, which we see the prices for Emu Birds are crashing like anything. An Adult Emu bird of 18 months is now available really cheap.
3. Many farmers unable to find buyers to sell the birds, they are slaughtering the birds for big functions like Marriages, festivals, etc. This trend has already started in Erode, Salem and Tirunelveli Districts. Again, the birds are sold at far cheaper price than imaginable.
4. Government of Tamil Nadu, has announced that it will feed the birds until they are grown up, and will sell to encash and return the deposits to Farmers. Government is selling Emus..???? Strange..!!!

The repercussions are:

• Price of Adult Emu Bird will continue to crash.

•  The price of Emu chicks will be unimaginably cheaper, this season.

•  Many hatcheries may not be functioning this time, hence, thousands of Eggs are going to be available at a far cheaper price.

•  Emu Meat will be popularised, as it is going to be available at a cheaper cost to common public.

After reading upto this, are you optimistic or pessimistic about emu farming?

YOU NEED TO BE OPTIMISTIC. Why?

• If you want to set up the Emu Farm, this is the good period to buy Adult Emu birds with cheapest initial investment. Buy 18-month birds or less, hence, you wouldn't have to face the issue of handling the eggs this season.

• If you have more funds, you can set-up hatcheries, and buy up Eggs in the market at cheaper price. I forecast the cost of chicks will come down this time heavily, hence, you might have to keep all your hatched emu chicks for future use (Meat Industry). Feeding them for atleast one year is going to cost a good amount of money.

• Emu Meat is now widely consumed, as it is cheaper than Mutton and Beef. Once people accustomed to it, and taste buds are happy, you have good times ahead. A whole new segment of Meat Market is going to be open.

Time and again, I have strongly advocated about the survival of Emu industry is relied only on Emu Meat and its Oil. This is becoming a reality now.

Be clear that, this year is a shake-up period for Emu Industry. Only strong players will remain hang on to the sport. Weak players will fall off sideways. The Industry will start flourishing from the next season onwards, because of strong demand for Emu Meat and its Oil. Hold tight...!!!

Ponzi Scheme..?? - An article by Economic Times...

There is an article published by Economic Times on Emu... The article could have been deeper, however, this article has raised a concern over whether the Emu Schemes are moving..

The link is below:

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-20/news/31214799_1_investment-scam-ponzi-circular-trading

(Thanks to Economic Times):

Investment scam: Cases of circular trading of Aussie bird emus rising in Tamil Nadu

Sangeetha Kandavel, ET Bureau Mar 20, 2012, 12.46AM IST

Tags:

• ponzi scheme|
• Flightless bird|
• EMUs|
• EMU|
• circular trading|
• Aussie bird

• 

CHENNAI: In Tamil Nadu, a highly literate and industrialised state with a propensity to fall for ponzi schemes, one more investment scam seems to be brewing. This time it centres around the emu, a large, flightless bird native to Australia and reputed to have as many uses as the wonder drug aspirin.

Across the southern state, indications are that there is a steady build-up of what is essentially circular trading of emus, something that is usually a precursor to an eventual collapse. Advertisements on television, Internet and pamphlets are touting the bird as the ultimate in investment.

Among those who fell for the spiel is Arjun, a 30-year-old software engineer from Chennai who bought 10 pairs of chicks investing Rs 2 lakh. He got his money back in two years, but now says there is something fishy about the whole scheme. "If everyone is selling the bird not to the end consumer but to people who are getting into farming, it doesn't sound good," he says.

Investment schemes for emus look remarkably similar to the ponzi rackets that have operated in the past. For an initial investment of, say, Rs 2 lakh for 20 pairs of chicks, an investor is promised total income of Rs 6.5 lakh in five years-essentially a tripleyour-money scheme. All an investor is supposed to do is return the 20 pairs to the company promoting the scheme every year and take a new set.

Emu farming is supposed to have debuted in India in the mid-1990s after emu slaughtering was banned in its home in Australia. Now, those in the business say there are 3,000 farms in the country, largely in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Maharashtra, Kerala and Gujarat.

It is in the past two years that the hype has grown. Afarm owner near the hill station of Kodaikanal boasted that he has sold over 1.5 lakh emus so far. No order below 25 pairs of chicks is worth his while and payment has to be upfront.

Doubts Over Mkt's Existence

Among those contributing to the buzz is Susi Emu Farms in Perundurai, near Erode, which calls itself one of the largest emu farms in India. Its sales pitch is that "it fulfils dreams of people who are in search of projects providing quick profits on investments in this competitive world".

For Senthil, who relishes quick profits, emus are just what he was looking for. Recently, he paid Rs 1.2 lakh for five pairs of chicks from a farm just outside Chennai. In two years, he believes, each emu will be worth Rs 45,000.

Emus can grow to be as tall as humans and weigh up to 60 kg. Related to ostriches, they can live for 40 years and are fertile for half that period. Those peddling emus say it is a golden goose-its meat, eggs, feathers, toenails, skin and even oil are all valuable.


While software engineers and farmers alike are being lured to emu schemes, they are not asking if there is a real market for emu products. Such concerns have arisen once in a while but formal complaints have not been made. VK Shanmugam, the collector of Erode district, says the emu business is a matter of "serious concern" but since there are no complaints, no action can be taken.

Shanmugam says he is also intrigued by the fact that he doesn't see any of the birds though people seem to be investing in them. "I hear that people are depositing money but are not able to get receipts for that," he says.

The administration recently had a meeting with top police officials about the emu problem. Tamil Nadu has a rich history of ponzi schemes. Among the more notable ones is the collapse in 1998 of the Anubhav group which duped investors who put money in a teak plantation scheme of around Rs 400 crore.

Last year, a PTI report said the Maharashtra government ordered a CID inquiry into a likely Rs 200-crore emu farming scam in Nashik district.

The controversial scheme, run by a private company, involved a promise to triple investment in 45 days. Farm owners in Tamil Nadu estimate the number of emus in the state at around five lakh, or one bird for every 130 people in Tamil Nadu. Sceptics such as Shanmugam, however, don't buy that number.

V Rajapandi, the general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Emu Association, said to be registered under the Societies Act and having 300 members, defends his business.

He says emu farming is a genuine business "if you do it in the right manner." "It has a huge market. Just because a handful of people say so, you cannot say the business is a ponzi scheme," he adds. 

(Thanks to: The Economic Times)

Contract Emu Farming - Some Warnings

Recently some distasteful news in the Media about Emu Business from Maharashtra, which was disheartening. 

There are two sides to a coin. One side is the people who simply ready to be duped with tons of ignorance and Money, and the Other side is the People who design their schemes such that most appealing to a common man to part with his Money and Confidence. This applies to Finance Companies to Forex Companies, and Emu Business is not an exception to this White-Collar Crime.

Before someone new to this industry end-up in a similar scam, there are some valid points to look for before investing in Emu Schemes, whether it is Contract Emu Farming or MLM-type Schemes. We will be seeing them here.

In any Business, there has to be a product. In Emu Business, Meat & Oil are the products (Eggs are only for reproduction and is not a product). These are the two main reasons for which, Emus have to be culled. Culling for reasonable economic values is the essential key to this Business. If there is no culling and no regeneration, the cycle never completes. 

Before you invest and Sign a contract with a Contract Emu Farming Company, please look into the following aspects.

I put them into pointers:

• In an Emu Contract Farming Business - Check whether they have processing plants to produce Meat and Oil. Emu Processing Unit (EPU), as they are called, are setup to cull birds hygienically, and cut meat as required by Market. If the Emu Contract Farming Company does not have EPU and proper Marketing Arrangements to market the meat, do not invest your money with them.

•  If the Emu Contract Farming Business offers you more than Rs.350/- per month per bird, double check their past history, and also check whether they already have the EPU. It might be possible that they need more birds for their busy EPU, so they offer higher premium. If not, they are luring you and your money, because it is simply not viable to run at this cost for long-term.  This also applies to giving Gold Coins as an Incentive to join. Simply, doubt them.

• If the Emu Contract Farming Business is based on the Multi-Level-Marketing mode, never involve into this. You will earn only bad reputation for yourself, because you are false-promising many people into that.  Stay away from these kind of schemes.

With the advent of few big names in the industry doing Emu Contract Farming in large scale has raised concerns for many. Because the amount involved is running into Crores of Rupees. The tipping point for this industry will flower once the Emu Meat is well liked by the end-users. For that to happen, Emu Meat must be freely available on the market first.

Emu business will sustain and grow only when there is a usage, that means, a Market for Meat. This can be achieved only through selling its Meat for consumers and Oil for Pharmaceutical Industries. That day is not too far.

Emu Salughtering - a Franchise Model ?

Emu Slaughtering is the lifeline for Emu Farming Industry. If it is not established soon, the industry will be waning.

Here it comes a new concept on Emu Slaughtering - on Franchise Model.

Emu Slaughtering has to be approved by Animal Husbandry Ministry, which it takes its own time to approve and hence this is one major reason emu slaughtering houses are getting delayed to start their operation. But an approval is not required for a Butcher, except getting sanitary certificate from the local municipality. 

Instead of relying on few big Slaughtering Houses to procure emu birds on live-weight basis in large numbers, there is a new thinking of franchising the slaughtering house model to Butchers in cities. 

How does it work?

Concept:  

The emu slaughtering is not so popular in retail level, because, Butchers do not know how to process this bird and also how to handle the byproducts and biological wastes originating from them. The Butchers are need to be invited to join a free program, where they will be systematically trained on the emu slaughtering in their shops. Systematically here means, teaching & training them on how to do the following: removing the skin with out knifing, removing the feathers without leaving holes in the skin, separating the fat without blood stains, and  handling the biological wastes, etc.

1. Butcher will pay for 3 birds average live weight cost @ 40 Kg x 275 x 3= 33,000/-. It can be arranged with a bank to grant unsecured micro lonas to the butchers. As banks provide the money to the franchiser directly, whereas the butcher owes money to bank.
2. The Emu birds will be given to them on a daily basis, the butcher will sell the meat and be settling the money on the same day evening and along with that, the fat, feathers, and skin also will be collected by the franchier.
3. A Delivery van, with cages for each bird to be built and used to deliver the birds. The birds are expected to be delivered before 6 am in the morning.
4. A Collection van with refrigeration facilities and a safe vault (to keep money), to be visiting each butcher around 4 pm in the evening to collect the money and FAT.
5. The big farmers are to be signed agreement to supply birds @ 250/kg live weight at their farm gate. 
6. An arrangement with Emu Fat processing units (one is already running in Pondicherry) will give you a regular market for the fat. Same applies for Skin and Feathers. There are consumers for it.

Let's look at the cost aspects:

• What does Breeder get?

A Emu bird will reach 40 Kgs at 10th month by changing the feed combination. The purpose made feed combination will help the bird to store lot of fat at the age of 10th months. The selling cost at the 10th month for each bird is: Rs. 10,000. you have spend Rs.4500(feed)+Rs.2500 (chick production cost+labor), which costs you around Rs.7,000/-. You get Rs.3000/- per bird. If your farm is producing 1000 birds every year, you get 30,00,000/- as profit, whereas your sales, is Rs.1,00,00,000. It's a good 30% margin. Breeder gets his money on cash and carry basis.

• What does the Franchiser get?

The Franchiser who does running the distribution network, virtually starts up with very small investment, compared to the Emu Breeder. A bunch of people, several custom-built lorries, and a systematic approach and sincerity to the business are enough to make the big success. Apart from the investment in the infrastructure, Franchiser makes Rs.2000/- per bird straightaway. If the lorry carries 60 birds at a time, it is 60,000/- per trip as total Gross Profit. The advance money is paid by the butcher, as this money is coming from Banks (Citi, HSBC, SCB, etc) as an unsecured Microfinancing Loan. Government is forcing the banks to disburse microfinancing loans as a percentage of their total capital requirement. Actually, these banks are looking for a reliable opportunity and partner to work with. The advance money is with Franchiser to pay in cash to the breeder. Breeder gets his money on cash and carry basis. The fat collected is at Rs.1000/Kg from Butcher and is sold to the Emu oil processing unit at Rs.1,200/Kg, which makes an another Rs.60,000/- per trip of 60 birds (60 birds @ 5 Kg x Rs.200 [1200-1000=200] = 60,000). Each butcher can sell atleast two birds a day (25 Kg meat for each bird) and you can easily find 30-50 butchers in a city to market your product. To increase your sales numbers, you need to advertise periodically about the health aspects of emu meat in Papers and TV. 

• What does the butcher get?

Butcher initially deposits Rs.33,000/- to the franchiser for 3 emu birds at 40 Kg live weight at the rate of Rs.275/Kg, and the money is given by bank as microfinancing loan with no collateral. Butcher sells 25 Kg of meat per bird(with bones, albeit) @ Rs.300-325/Kg, sells 5 Kg of fat to the franchiser at Rs.1000/Kg, and Skin is selling at Rs.500/Skin. The total sales is Rs.13,000, against the bird cost of Rs.11,000/-. The net revenue is Rs.2,000/bird. If he sells two birds, he can make Rs.4,000/day on emu birds. Butcher is not sparing the money from his packet to pay the advance, which he can settle over a period of 3 years to the bank. And also, he is delivered with birds at his doorstep, and the fat is sold at his doorstep to the franchiser on the same day. It's no-pain business for him.

In general, Emu industry will be flourishing if this model gets implemented. If you need further clarification/information/suggestion on this, please email to me at jm.emufarm-at-g.mail_com.

Some Clarifications on Emu farming

There was a thread in www.agricultureinformation.com about emu farming. The following questions were raised in that thread:

1. where to sell the emu meat, emu eggs and etc....
2. who is regulating/controling the rates of emu products.
3. Do we have processing units to extract the emu oil, emu meat, other stuff.
4. Do we have gov regulated exporting system for emu to other countries.
no body does have perfect answer to this emu farming. 

I have discussed the above questions in this blog in the previous entries. Let's look it again:

1. where to sell the emu meat, emu eggs and etc....

Obviously emu meat has to be sold to the consumer's like you and me in India. Currently there is no supply chain to carry emu meat to consumer's kitchen. The closely held market is in several Non-Veg Restaurants in Major Cities, which is offering Emu Meat based dishes and being received well. Unfortunately, we have only leg-bend emus for culling. No healthy herd just for culling purpose, because of sheer numbers. 

Please read this blog entry for knowing more about discussing this issue.

Eggs have to be sold to Hatcheries. If you couldn't find one nearby, set up one. It doesn't cost much. 

 
2. who is regulating/controlling the rates of emu products.

Market force, i.e, Demand and Supply will decide this rate. Once the adoption is high, and when the demand is exceeding supply, the rates for the birds will go up. This is very simple market calculation.

Regulating the rates for emu birds' is definitely not  the Government's business. If that's the case, we won't be having general price rise across India in commodities. 

In the near future, it will be the Slaughtering House Owner's will decide the rate for emu birds. Unless you have a integrated farming, i.e., you grow your own feed for emus, and buy only the essential medicines across the counter. This will save you a lot in feed costs. Other costs seems not having any variable portion at the most, i.e. quite static expenses. 


3. Do we have processing units to extract the emu oil, emu meat, other stuff.

Emu processing units are coming up, in Andhra Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu. If my guess is correct, there will be 4 units in South India by end of 2011. These units are mainly focusing on slaughtering. Emu Oil processing requires special permissions, hence only few in the entire country will be able to do it, commercially. One of my friend in Tamil Nadu, already got this license from Central Government.

4. Do we have gov regulated exporting system for emu to other countries.

Govt does regulate  hygiene aspects of this trade, as is happening to other meat product exports. Emu Meat is neither a rare item, nor a regulated/controlled item like deer meat. Hence, this question doesn't arise. In general, while exporting, it is the buyer's terms & conditions that rules. 

Commercial Emu Farming

In our previous post, we have seen contract emu farming is picking up in TN. Here're more details about it, from Jeevan Emu Care, Dindigul.

Commercial INTEGRATION farming of emu

PLAN - A (Commercial Integration Farming of Emu) 

 

1. All Emu chicks supplied by the company are of export quality. 
2. The security deposit for the chicks worth Rs.3 lakhs is just Rs.2 lakhs only. 
3. The company will deliver 20 Quality emu chicks for this. 
4. Feeds &  Medicines for Emu chicks will be delivered to Farm directly by company. 
5. The agreement period is 5 years. 
6. During 5 years, 20 Emu chicks will be supplied once in 12 months. 
7. Company supervisors will inspect the farm once in a week and inspections reports will be maintained by the company. 
8. 12 months is treated as one Integration period. 
9. The company will pay Rs.4,000/- for each chicks in every Integration period(Totally Rs80000/- for 20 chicks). 
10. Company will bear the Insurance premium amount also. 
11. The total market worth of Emu 20 birds is Rs.3,00,000/- 
12. The company agrees to pay Rs.10000/- as bonus per batch as per the calculation of FCR per year. 
13. At the end of 5th year, the company will pay the brought up amount (Rs.4,000/-per bird) along with the invested amount. 
14. All the conditions apply.

Income (Per 20 Birds)  First Year : Rs 90,000/-* Total Income : Rs 6,50,000/- Second Year : Rs 90,000/-* Investment : Rs 2,00,000/- Third Year : Rs 90,000/-* Forth Year : Rs 90,000/-* Net Profit : Rs 4,50,000/-* Final Year : Rs 2,90,000/-* (Just in 5 Years) *Conditions apply

(Thanks to Jeevan Emu Care India Pvt Ltd)

 If you look at the price, they are selling (or getting deposits) @ Rs.20,000/- for each 3-month chick. If you look at their PLAN B, they are buying 3-months old emu chicks @ Rs.3,000/- from you, and too, this is before their Marketing charges kicking in, I assume.This explains how they offer "free feed and Medicines, and periodical visits". It's all included in that. The expenses for running the office covered by this, legitimately.

Guess what ?  You have steady cash-flow, and banks have to beg you to take loan from them, because you are cash-rich. Also, your deposits are refundable at the end of fifth year and NOT taxable at the hand of Income-Tax and again interest-free in the eyes of Taxmen.

Contract Emu Farming is picking up in Tamil Nadu

Contract Emu Farming is one of the 3 method of emu farming, which we have discussed earlier in one of the blogpost.

Contract Emu Farming works in a different way than MLM. It's not MLM at all.  Let's look into how does it work.

In brief, Contract Emu Farming is of 10-pair size or in multiples of 10-pairs, i.e., 10 pairs, 20 pairs, 30 pairs, etc. In this method, farmer is depositing a refundable interest-free deposit for the cost of 10-pairs with the Emu Company.   In turn, the emu company sets up a mesh-wire fencing and a small shed, provides feeds and medicines at no cost to the farmer. Besides all, they are giving Rs.250-300/- per month per emu chick as incentive for safekeeping the emu birds. So, roughly for 10-pairs they are getting Rs.5,000 to Rs.6,000 per month as incentive, just to feed and water the emu chicks in the farmer's premises. The chicks are insured by the company and any mortality is company's responsibility and they will replace with a new chick to maintain the numbers. The ongoing market (or security deposit) is Rs.15,000/- per 3-month old emu chick pair. For a 1.5 lakh rupees interest-free refundable deposit, they are getting Rs.72,000/- per year. This is interesting, right. Where on the earth you will get this interest? But, You need to be in contract for a minimum period of 5-years, i.e., you will get the regular monthly income of Rs.5,000/- for next five years, and cannot break the bond. This is the view of this contract emu farming business from farmer's point of view.

When I realised that how does it work on emu company's side, it is awesome business proposal for both sides. Fantastic. Legally right, it is not affecting any party involved both financially and in performance. A real win-win situation (so far).

Currently, there are several companies started this contract emu farming. In Tamil Nadu, VC emufarms, Susi Emufarm, Jeevan Emu Care, are some of the companies doing this now. Next year, many will join the queue. This shows, there is a revival of emu business in Tamil Nadu.

Emu forecast for 2011.

I just saw an email from one of the emu enthusiasts from Andhra Pradesh. The news is interesting.

There are few big emu farmers from two different locations, formed a JV to set up a two Emu Slaughtering Units at a cost of Rs.4 Crores each. They are planning to purchase 16-18 month old bird at Rs.315 - 325/- Kg on live weight and a minimum weight for the birds is 50 Kgs. The price roughly works out to Rs.31,000/- per pair of 18 month birds. That's a very good price considering the current market rates. The plants are expected to come up live in mid-2011. Now, GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council - Saudi, UAE, Bahrai, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar) countries are the potential and easily accessible target for emu meat from India.

Also, rumors that two slaughtering houses are coming up in Tamil Nadu as well during the same period. But, In Tamil Nadu, Big-shots are trying to get the bird as cheap as possible for the slaughtering house from small farmers. This strategy is not going to work out well. Also, Plants in Tamil Nadu seems not of JV type. It seems they are going to be belong to a single farm or two only.

In an oligopolistic emu market, small farmers going to steer the market prices. Market forces will decide the price of emu. Slaughter houses used to consume several thousand birds per year. In a seasonal business entity, regular production is the key to keep the prices stable. If the supply is not managed well, the price will sky rocket, like BSE Sensex.

Currently there is a slack in end-use. If the end-use opportunity is coming via Slaughtering Unit and Oil Processing, then it is going to be the beginning of new economic Boom in India for Rural Markets. This time it is not uneducated farmers who is going to rule this agri trade, but educated, young, mid 30s to mid 40s graduates with internet in hand.

2011 is going to be really rocking and thrilling roller coaster ride for emu biz in India. Be prepared.

Emu Farming Vs Rabbit Farming

One emu enthusiast was asking whether emu farming is like what Rabbit Farming was few years ago.

It is a valid concern, since many hundreds of people lost their money in the MLM-kind (Multi-Level Marketing) of business model of Rabbit Farming. It's not the MLM model that brought this business downswing, but the ultimate end-use was not defined in the business. People who sold the rabbits mentioning the goodness of its meat, never tasted it. It's so sticky or so rubbery, when cooked. It's not a hard meat, as it is mutton or quail or chicken. Indians do not eat this kind of meats. So, the meat never took off. When there is no end use for the product, it cannot grow forever. So, the ultimate stop came in.

Emu Farming is entirely different. First, it is not MLM model. You pay and get worthy emu Chicks. The Emu meat is very nice and affordable for people to buy it. If you look at my previous posts, I have explained about the emu meat requirement and supply. There are several meat shops are popping up. The business is very hectic. I am getting regular call for asking to buy Leg-bend emu chicks for meat purpose. Since, the emu meat is getting very popular and the demand is keep increasing.

One thing, I noticed, would be a hurdle in fixing the price. The feed cost is very high, when we consider growing emu for meat purpose alone. So, either the feed cost must come down, or the meat cost must go up, say to Rs.750/kg.

With the current supply and demand situation for emu meat, I bet it would reach up to Rs.750/Kg, soon.