PHD Chamber urges Government to include Pet Food Industry as a part of Performance Linked Incentive Scheme

The Food Processing Committee of PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) organized a WEBINAR ON PET FOOD INDUSTRY - UNLEASHING OPPORTUNITIES & KEY CHALLENGES.  The objective of the webinar was to create awareness about the potential for growth of Pet Food Industry under the Prime Minister's initiative of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.  

The chief Guest for the webinar was Dr O P Chaudhary, Joint Secretary (NLM/PC) Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying said that there is immense scope for India to venture into pet food as it is an upcoming industry and the government is inclined to promote this industry. He opined that the government has allocated funds for the development of an animal husbandry infrastructure fund that will handhold MSMEs and other private companies who are interested in animal feed and it will give impetus to the Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan as well. He also emphasized that there is a need to establish animal nutrition and pet food manufacturing plants in India to meet the growing demand. 

He also mentioned that Pets have been used for addressing many complex issues of society like mental health; pets have become a necessity for some category of people. There is a growth in pet-related activities and pet food is the major sector in India. Pet health can be ensured only with a balanced diet according to their type and age. There is a need for increasing pet food manufacturing and he urged the Pet Food Industry to overcome the demand-supply gap. 

Dr. Sujit Kumar Dutta, Secretary, Animal Welfare Board of India urged the Indian industry to come forward as the country requires nutritional pet food at the same time keeping in mind the beliefs of the Indians, we need vegetarian pet food. There is immense research opportunity in this segment that can be harnessed by the Indian industry, he added. Moving ahead, he recommended that we need to set up a manufacturing plant under the Aatma Nirbhar Financial package which will be a major leap towards making this industry self-reliant for the nation. 

He opined that there is a huge opportunity in the Indian Pet Food Industry and immense scope for India to venture into the Pet Food segment. There has been a rapid demand increase in pet food during the times of the pandemic as many street dogs have been adopted by the people. The citizens are gaining awareness about the importance of pet food and its impact on the health of the pets. Dr. Dutta mentioned that keeping a pet is now a popular culture because pets have helped reduce the levels of depression; their company is therapeutic and reassuring for old single citizens. 

Mr Ganesh Ramani, General Manager, MARS International India reiterated that Pet food has gained significance over the years and more so because of the rise in pet adoption and pet parents paying more attention to pet nutrition for their health and wellbeing. Appreciating PHDCCI for promoting pet food industry regulatory framework and guidelines through the platform, Mr Ramani stated that the pet food industry in this country is unregulated due to the non existence of uniform science based regulations and relevant standards for this category to ensure the food safety aspects, barring a few, The need of the hour is to make this industry ATMANIRBHAR for the future. 

Mr Satinder Singh, General Manager, Royal Canin India while highlighting about the motto of Royal Canin believing that pet’s make this world better, mentioned that Pet food industry is already witnessing a rapid growth due to increase in pet ownership & rise in awareness on wellbeing of pets. Further, citing about the challenges which includes highly ambiguous regulatory environment, isolated government policies focusing on livestock and Animal feed (cattle feed) specifically, absence of uniform regulatory framework, non-scientific sanitary import guidelines (for Animal Health Certificate), higher taxation for pet food  viz a viz Animal feed (cattle feed) and low awareness amongst pet owners, society and fraternity, he added that creating awareness through such occasions would help leverage and bring a scientific regulatory framework and guidelines for the pet food industry in the future would mitigate the challenges and unleash the true category potential of the Pet Food Industry.  

Mr Govind Suryawanshi, Corporate Affairs Director, Royal Canin India addressed on the existing global regulatory framework for pet food including FEDIAF & AAFCO and necessity of uniform regulatory framework for pet food industry in India. Further, Mr Suryawanshi in his remarks stated that Harmonized Regulatory environment focused on policies, standards, ease of doing business, reducing non-tariff barriers (Sanitary & Phyto Sanitary Guidelines), uniform taxation for pet food vis. animal feed and identical regulations for both Manufacturers & Importers of pet food will empower the industry to reach its true potential in the following years. 

Ms Nitasha Doger, Scientist-D (Food & Agriculture), Bureau of Indian Standards while highlighting about the role of BIS in making  harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto briefed about the Role of maintaining animal feed standards & BIS certification. She highlighted about the Indian standards on pet food for dogs and cats which includes definition of complete food; type of pet foods; ingredients & requirements of complete Pet food mineral and vitamin content; and maximum limit of toxic contaminants in Pet Food and additional information for guidance purpose.    

Mr. Gaurav Kwatra, Business Head, Purina Petcare India in his presentation highlighted about the Post COVID19 Trends & Paradigm shift to Consumer behaviour. He highlighted about the macro trends which includes consumers becoming more careful about making purchases, digital adoption and online shopping burgeoning. Further while worrying about the situation of covid-19, he stated that during these tough times it’s the pet who has taken care of us to tackle the problem of stress, anxiety and isolation.  

Mr Ganesh Nayak, Founder & Chairman, Animal Matters to Me (Animal Welfare Organization) discussed about the Prevention of Animal Cruelty Act focusing on prevention of the infliction of unnecessary pain or suffering of the animals. He also highlighted about the animal welfare environment; breeding conditions; on ground activities support; responsible pet ownership and corporate social responsibility for sustainable responsibility society can contribute to protect animals from cruelty. 

Mr Pradeep Multani, Sr Vice President, PHDCCI while welcoming the dignitaries stated that the pet food industry has the potential to grow over 20 times throwing opportunities for meat and poultry industry and start Ups. Setting the theme, he added that the discussions will focus on the overall evolution of the Pet Food Industry, marketing challenges and opportunities, regulatory concerns facing importers and domestic producers, supply chain and logistics for raw material sourcing, also opportunities for investment in pet food processing given the growing market, need for research in animal wellness and feed and food technologies. Highlighting about several challenges Industry is suffering due to lack of level playing field in GST, availability of finance, incentives and subsidies, he stated that recently announced Performance Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry has covered many sectors including marine food but has clearly bypassed the pet food industry which has huge potential.  

Further Mr Multani also stated that the pet food sales have witnessed an increase of 20 percent in 2020. The momentum is likely to continue. According to industry experts, the pet food market is worth 2500 crore of which the share of the domestically manufactured pet food is not very significant and nearly 80 per cent is imported. Going forward, concluding the address, Mr Multani urged that banks should be encouraged to treat this as priority sector for lending and motivate the growth of the Industry. 

Mr Ajay Beri, Chairman of the Food Processing Committee, PHD Chamber in his address raised key challenges faced by domestic pet food industry and put forward the suggestions on behalf of the domestic industry.  

Mr Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI while proposing a formal vote of thanks to all the delegates and participants mentioned that the industry can further evolve and throw further opportunities in the value chain for start-ups as well, only if there is a well-defined framework and level field playing for the Pet Food Industry.  

Ms Mallika Verma, Director (Agriculture & Food Processing), PHDCCI moderated the Question and Answers discussion and reiterated about the need for a platform for stakeholders to discuss the production, procurement, regulatory and marketing challenges as well as highlight emerging opportunities for small and medium sized start-ups. 

The Knowledge Partners for the Webinar were MARS International India, Royal Canin India along with Gold Sponsor as Purina PetCare India; Silver sponsor as Kennel Kitchen and was supported by PETEX India’21 and The Feline club of India. The Media Partners for the Webinar were Nuffoods Spectrum; Krishi Jagran and Dogs and Pups / Cats & Kittens Magazine. The Webinar was attended by more than 100 industry stalwarts pan- India.