Rising feed costs threaten India’s growing Livestock sector as Animal products near crop value
The livestock sector has been gaining ground in the agricultural economy of India, and the value of milk, eggs, meat and other animal products has been trending towards that of crops. But the market’s increased costs of ingredients are becoming a serious problem for the industry.
Gross value added from livestock sector in 2013-14 was about 34% of the value generated in crops. The ratio increased to 57% in 2023-24 indicating that livestock production has become important in addition to the traditional production units.
But farmers and producers are faced with increasing pressure from feed costs. Maize is a source of main energy and carbohydrate production in poultry and livestock. Concerning its amounts in feed, it occupies approximately around 55-65% in case of broiler feed, 50-60% in case of layer feed and 15-20% in cattle feed.
Proteins, minerals, vitamins, dietary fibre as well as synthetic amino acids and other additives are also needed by the livestock. The main sources of protein are oilseed meals & cakes (such as soya, mustard, groundnut, sunflower and cottonseed variant), and rice bran.
Several important feed raw materials have experienced a substantial increase in price over the last year. As of August 2026, the average price of maize at Alangeyam market, Erode district of Tamil Nadu stood at Rs 2,759 Quintal compared to August 2025 at Rs 2537 Quintal.
Soybean meal prices are also on the rise. The price of soybean meal (50% protein) rose from Rs 38,186/Tonne in August 2025 to Rs 58,156/Tonne in August 2026 at Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Despite the recent drop, the price is still double the September 2025 average of Rs 35,327 per tonne – even though we have reached local prices of about Rs 48,750-49,000 per tonne this month.
Other proteins have been on a similar trend as well. In the current scenario, groundnut and rapeseed oilcakes are being sold at an approximate price Rs 38,000/tonne and Rs 32,600/tonne against September 2025 norms of Rs 24,188 and Rs 24,479 respectively. The costs of cottonseed- and rice-bran-based extractions have also increased.
As a result, the increasing feed costs for livestock producers will be an important issue India needs to investigate, as it could impact business profitability and animal food products prices.