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.

Emu Meat - Some Commercial Aspects

Emu Meat is already getting into food plates in some selected cities in India.

There was a hype in the Emu Farming community for not going into slaughtering. That is, we need more emu birds to feed the population if they are tasted and addicted to emu meat. Verily True. But, if we wait for the time to come, the small farming community will find it unable to feed the emu birds and chicks, and eventually collapse. This is a happening in Tamil Nadu now.

In an average, a Emu chick eats 0.5 Kg per day for first 12 months (Note, in an average... actually it increases from 100g to 200g and upto 650 grams per day when it reaches 12 months). When it reaches 18 months, it will start eating 1000grams per day. But the growth is from 450 grams it will reach 45, 000 grams - a whopping 100 times growth in 18 months.

Let's look into some statistics of Emu Meat's commercial aspect:


If you look deep into the chart above, you will see Fully grown Emu (18+ months) weighs around 40-45 Kg. Let's take 40 Kg in a moderate account.


Live Weight: 40 Kg
Feather, etc: 10 Kg (considered waste, but somehow people can sell it for some money.)
Meat: 20 Kg (In Indian conditions, we don't completely remove bones in the saleable meat)
Bones: 5 Kg (reasonably big bones)
FAT: 5 Kg (the fat shall be blood-free, means, no blood droplets shall be found in the fat).

To feed enthusiastic and health-conscious upper middle-class and above, they will be frenzied about this meat. It is beleived that rheumatism subsidies after eating emu meat. Currently they are paying around 300-450 per Kg, but when the demand is high, and the supply is low, the price will go up. Now more people will be frenzied about emu farming, and jump into it. Just remember, we are still growing emus in a seasonal agri-business industry.

In simple terms, for regular daily demand of emu meat, we have only a seasonal supply, which obviously shows the demand is always going to be higher than the supply. This simple fact tells you about the future of emu farming.

Other hype is that there is a huge export market out there. Export Market is there, but not huge. Even if it is cost effective to produce in India, India is still not considered a hygienic source to import from. Many western countries shun India as a source for Emu Meat. This is a image problem. Only orchestrated effort from Government of India can do to overcome and rebuild.

Okay, when you are selling the meat like hot cake on cash-terms locally, why do you want to export at a lower cost in credit terms. Moreover, If you cannot meet the local demand, why do you think of exporting them. So, just forget about Export of Emu meat.

Have you tasted the emu meat, yet?

Emu Slaughtering in Chennai

Emu Slaughtering has started in small scale in various cities of Tamil Nadu State. The response so far is so good. The current price is Rs.300/kg to Rs.350/kg, depend on cities. However, no stock carried away to the freezer for next day. All sold out on the same day.

Interesting.... isn't it?

In Chennai, VCEmufarm has started a joint called, Maya & Maya Food joint in the following address:

" MAYA & MAYA Food Joint "

114-F,Shanthi Colony Main Road,
Anna Nagar, Chennai - 600 040.
Call : 97891 74466 / 94420 10168
E-mail : mayaandmayaemuproducts@gmail.com
Web : www.emufarms.in / www.vcemufarms.com

In Dindigul, Jeevan Emu Care India and PAN Emu Farm have started their meat sale for some time.

Soon, it will spread to other parts of the nation too.

Look for freezers in your local city superstores for Emu Nuggets, and meat products.

Future of Emu Farming in India -2

Emu meat is considered to be taste like beef, red in color like beef and a fibrous meat. We all knew fibrous meat is most suitable for Briyani, which is pricey indian feast food in India and across the globe.

So, how to introduce this meat in Indian domestic market? We will look in detail..

Let's look at the Meat Consumption Scenario in India:

"The per capita consumption of beef / buffalo in India is 2.8 kg, about half that of fish, but more than twice the average intake of mutton, pork and poultry. According to statistics compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the total number of animals slaughtered for meat in India rose from 66,299,600 head in 1980 to 106,239,000 head in 2000, nearly doubling. There was a rise in the total number of cows and buffaloes slaughtered for meat in India from 15,644,000 head in 1980 to 24,300,000 head in 2000, an increase in total beef meat and buffalo meat production of 1,673,972 in 1980 to 2,863,400 in 2000."

The above figures are 10 years old statistics (lazy officers... Ministry of Food Processing yet to process 2008 figures, which are already 2 years old. In overseas, they are able to release last quarter statistics, on the fourth month). However, the domestic market is huge. The price per Kg works out to be Rs.120/- for export, whereas Rs.150/- for domestic. To compete this segment with a price tag of Rs.350/- Per Kg for Emu Meat is a impossible task. So, we need to change the way Emu meat is being marketed. We will look into this in the later part of this post.

"It should be kept in mind that due to social reasons, the consumption of buffalo meat is restricted in India. While over 70% of Indians are non- vegetarian by choice or religious belief, consumption of beef and pork is limited. The slaughter of cow / Bull is prohibited in all but two states (Kerala and West Bengal). Although more emphasis is given on beef imports and states of Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and others metropolis do witness beef production."

Still, 30% of people consuming meat in India is a huge number. We have discussed in detail in one of the previous post.

Positing of a product is more important than the product itself.

Emu meat is healthier for heart, according to US FDA, compared to other meats.

My point here is that, we need to emphasis on the heart-healthy nature of the emu meat to the customers.

Secondly, Emu meat has to be processed in a facility and marketed domestically. When there is a centralized facility, transportation poses a major challenge in keeping the freshness of the meat. Inevitably, the meat has to be marketed as a frozen meat. Indians used to buy the meat fresh, but nowadays, they already started buying frozen chicken in superstores, thanks to Venky Hatcheries and Suguna Chickens. This is a good sign for the aspiring Emu Meat Manufacturers.

Thirdly, food processing institutes (catering Colleges), are to be engaged by the Meat Manufactures and Government Ministry to provide best ways to prepare Emu Meat dishes in a tastier manner. These cooking methods have to be given away to Cooks as a Free Training through regional Food Mela's. The Emu Meat has to be sponsored by the Manufacturers for the Mela. Also, Television shows to teach how to cook emu meat in a tastier manner through Chefs, as a regular weekly programme.

Fourthly, State Governments shall release Newspaper Advertisements and short Commercials on the Nutritional value of Emu Meat in the respective states.

Fifthly, Self-Help Groups have to be engaged to rear Emu Chicks in large scale, so that they can grow the bird and sell it to Slaughtering Houses on a per kilo basis. The SHGs shall be sponsored by the Emu Meat Manufacturers through MicroFinance Loan Scheme of the Government, with a buy-back arrangements after 15 months. The farms shall be inspected prior to shipping them to Slaughter house by the Meat Manufacturer's officials to ensure the healthy nature of the birds. Once they are approved, they can send the birds to the Slaughter house and weigh them and receive the money instantly. Strictly No Credit. Banks shall enforce this on the Meat Manufacturers.

I hope relevant people, both aspiring emu entrepreneurs and government officials read this post to take the message in a relevant state.

Future of Emu Farming in India - 1

Emu Farming is continuously growing like a wild-fire in India. Now the fever is happening in Northern part of India and spreading to North-East too.

Spreading Emu Farming as a news might be cheerful in outset, but when you look at that, people in the nearby locations like, Farms in Gujarat, Maharastra are going to benefit from this spread, since India is huge in land mass. You need to pay a minimum of Rs.5 to 15 per Km as transportation charges. So, if the purchase place is nearer, you can save money on the investment for the farm. The other side of this, Farms in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are affected, due to uncompetitive prices. Buyer always look at the landed cost, and he doesn't care where it comes from. So, the farmers in South are struggled, when it comes to 'new chicks' sales.

So, what's next?

Emu Meat Sales is only way to end this struggle and grow this business in multiple folds, say, beyond leaps and bounds. I wrote this calculation in agricultureinformation.com once. Emu Meat is like red in Beef/Mutton, but doesn't have the qualities of Mutton or beef, i.e., fat/cholesterol. The price is almost same, when it compared to Mutton (beef cost is lower than mutton). All we need is a push as marketing to explain the benefits of emu meat to the general public through TV Medium.

Let's look at the requirements of Emu Birds, if there is a demand of Emu Meat from health-conscious (... it can reduce heart attacks, prevent fat accumulating in blood vessels, and hence save precious lives...) consumer's realized.

One fully grown Emu Adult Bird weighs around 40-50 Kg

Out of this:

Meat - 20-25 Kg
Fat - 5-7 Kg
Bones - 7-10 Kg

If a normal family buys 0.5 Kg per week- a medium city with a small population of 1 million people, we assume 15% of population can afford to buy Meat on weekends and out of that, 8% of the consumers are going for Emu Meat (health conscious.!!), there will be 20,000 consumer families (each family is assumed of 4 persons each, hence, there are 250,000 families in a 1 million population). Hence, 20,000 x 0.5 Kg = 10,000 Kg. To get 10,000 Kg, you need to cull 400 birds per weekend. There are 52 weekends, but due to indian festivals and holidays let's assume 50 weeks. Hence, there is a requirement of 20,000 birds every year in a small city of 1 million population.

India has 1200 million population; however, there are around 300 cities in India, which is equival or bigger than this estimate. Hence, annual requirement of 60,00,000birds are needed every year. It works out to be roughly 5,00,000 birds every month. I bet there is no such amount of bird population now.

Let's assume that it will take another 5 years to reach this level of meat consumption (do not forget, that every year 100 million new Indian citizens are being added... :-) ). It might take much more amount of time to meet the sudden surge of demand for emu meat.

The current speed of spreading emu farming will not be enough if the meat consumption is started.

All of this is just hanging on one simple issue or fact. Take efforts to market Emu Meat as a "heart-healthy meat". Nowadays people are more health-conscious. You can look at the TV advertisements as an indicator. An ordinary refined Palm-oil is marketed as Good for Health Oil. Not only that, most of the edible oils are sold as a healthy oil. In reality, Oil is not healthy at all, except Olive Oil. Olive Oil is another market is growing in leaps and bounds in India. So, there is a huge market in India for Emu meat. No doubt about that.

Secondly, growing Goat becomes a highly risky business, since, you don't get village boys for herding goats. They have all gone to schools now. So, sudden vaccum has been created in villages, hence, goat population is also getting lesser every year. Mutton price rise is primarily based on the non-availability of goats. Growing population need alternative meat. So, there is a huge market out there.

Emu Business Concepts

Emu Farming is a successful business concept, if you have understand how it can be adapted into Indian conditions. There are few concepts ongoing:

1. Sell Emu chicks to small farmers and Brokers

- You need a hatchery and sufficient amount of adult birds to feed the hatchery with eggs. if you do not have adequate eggs, you will buy from outsiders. The resultant emu chicks will be sold to small emu farmers. In turn, these small farmers will insist on agreement to take back their eggs.

2. Sell Emu Chicks on Contract Farming.

- All the set up is as above, except you will be taking back the bird instead of eggs after some time.

3. Sell Emu birds (12-months old) to Abattoir for Meat sales and Fat Oil Extraction.

- This concept is yet to take shape, but this is going to be sustain both of the above methods. If this concept is not taking shape, both the above concepts will die slowly, and eventually, the emu farming industry will disappear from the Indian Soil.

Current Status of Emu Farming in Tamil Nadu

In Tamil Nadu, Emu Farming is scattered around North-Western parts and in and around Madurai. There are other farms smaller in size, across Tamil Nadu. You can find atleast 20 big farms are in Tamil Nadu, which comprises of more than 70% of the Emu Population of the state.

The Main purpose of these farms are selling Chicks to Locals and selling bulk to Andhra Pradesh and beyond. There is no real end use for this Emus at present, except few (big) farmers already tried out selling Meat to the local market and processing Fat in their backyard and selling them as Emu Oil to local stores. Meats end up as Briyani and most of them do like it well, whereas Oil brought more bad name than profit. Because Oil was not processed properly and lost their medicinal values during the preparation, hence, it didn't perform as expected.

There is a emu research unit in Pudukkottai. Its called Emu Research Centre, sponsored by Animal Husbandary Department of Tamil Nadu. This Centre has a Emu Incubator and 10 pairs of Adult Emu birds. They are conducting Training for farmers regularly and they have released a book in Tamil on Emu Farming, as well. This research centre is trying its best to educate farmers, but in general, the mood of the department is unsure of the market for Emu. They worried too much if they would misdirect people, since they have already burned their fingers in Rabbit Farming.

Since selling Chicks was the main focus of these big farms, the market has really moved away to farther places like Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Chandigarh, MP, etc. The cost of transportation is getting higher, hence, net realization for the chicks goes lower for Tamil Nadu Farmers. So, there is a tight situation now, as the farmers are having excess chicks in their hand. The is not an isolated case, but most of the farmers faces this problem now.

It leads to formation of central association in Tamil Nadu, called, Tamil Nadu Emu Farmers Association (TANEFA). The Association has just formed to find ways to keep, sustain and grow the Emu Farming industry in Tamil Nadu. We need to wait and see whether this association really helps small emu farmers to sell their birds at a reasonable profit or will this association help only to the big farmers? Let's see.

I observed a emu business model, which is outstanding and successful. There are few farms already doing this very successfully. I will explain this in the next post.