Amid increasing incidents of lynching and killing in the name of cow protection, a UN report reveals that India is the world’s third largest exporter of beef accounting for 16% of the global exports.
A report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation has revealed this data. Brazil tops the list of the world’s largest beef exporters, and Australia comes in second, followed by India. However, the reports did not clarify that whether the exports were of cow or buffalo meat.
Read More: Modi govt accepts 41% increase in crimes in name of community, religion
India exported 1.56 million tonnes of beef in 2016. It is expected to maintain its position as the third-largest exporter of the meat till 2026 by exporting 1.93 tonnes that year, the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2017-2026 report said.
The country imported as much as 3, 63,000 tonnes of beef in 2016, according to OECD data. The total world beef exports in 2016 stands at 10.95 million tonnes, which is expected to increase to 12.43 million tonnes by 2026, according to the FAO.
India has been hit by a wave of gruesome lynchings. And at the epicenter of the country’s violent upheaval is the indolent cow. Emboldened by an ascendant Hindu nationalist movement, coupled with a controversial government ban on cattle slaughter, so-called cow-vigilante groups have been carrying out a ruthless form of mob justice, summarily executing those suspected of killing, trading, or consuming beef.
