A SEA OF OPPORTUNITY

IN A COUNTRY THAT FEASTS ON POULTRY, ALLURI INDRA KUMAR HAS DOGGEDLY FOCUSSED ON SHRIMP FARMING AND PRODUCTION. NOW HIS FIRM AVANTI FEEDS, A FORTUNE INDIA 500 COMPANY, IS SET TO REAP THE BENEFITS FROM THE GOVERNMENT’S FOCUS ON THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.

- ANSHUL DHAMIJA

“In India, only 40% of the population is vegetarian, while the rest of the population is mainly [made up of] chicken eaters,” says Alluri Indra Kumar, chairman and managing director, Avanti Feeds Limited. Shrimp (or prawn), on the other hand, continues to be considered a “luxury item”, adds Kumar. “For people who stay inland, seafood is only consumed on occasions,” he says, alluding to the relatively low consumption of the crustacean that Avanti Feeds, the leading producer of shrimp feed (nutrition feed for shrimp farming) and exporter of shrimp in the country, has grappled with since its inception in 1993.

Various data sources show that India consumes approximately 13 million birds on a daily basis and, according to government data, its annual egg consumption went up to 86 eggs per person in 2019-20, a 9% rise over the previous year. Shrimp production too registered a growth of about 12% to 800,000 tonnes in 2019 but, Kumar says, its consumption in India is still less than 3% of chicken. This is despite the fact that “prawns are good for health as they have good cholesterol”, says Kumar. But they aren’t prescribed by medical professionals for people with high cholesterol, while poultry benefits from its recommended protein-richness and immunity-building properties.

That said, the inherent disadvantages in the industry haven’t hampered the rise and rise of Avanti Feeds over the last almost two decades. (It has been a