World's biggest egg producer keen to set up advanced poultry farm in India: Pradhan

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday informed that ISE Foods, one of world's biggest producers of eggs, is willing to set up an advanced poultry farm in India on a pilot basis.

Pradhan, who is on a three-day visit to Japan, said this after meeting ISE Foods Chairman Hikonobu Ise here.

Taking to Twitter, Pradhan posted a picture of his meeting with Ise and said that the egg producing firm has expressed an interest in training Indian students in advanced technologies of poultry farming, which can help them to set up their own businesses in the field.

"Received Chairman of ISE Foods, one of world's biggest egg producer; they want to set up an advanced poultry farm in India on pilot basis (sic)," Pradhan tweeted.

"They also want to train Indian students in Japan in advanced technologies of poultry farming who can then set up their own business in India (sic)," he added.

As per a report of Indian Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries for fiscal 2016-2017, poultry production in India has taken a quantum leap in the last four decades.

Currently, India's total poultry population is 729.21 million (as per the 19th Livestock Census) and egg production is around 82.93 billion during 2015-16.

The per capita availability (2015-16) is around 66 eggs per annum.