Buffalo meat

[2][3] Meat taken from a buffalo younger than 20 months is known as padwa in India, pado in Nepal and bansgosh in Pakistan.

In countries like India, for religious reasons, a considerable part of the population does not eat beef (meat of cattle).

Water buffalo are a type of bovid, but their meat is different from beef in many respects.

In India, during the calendar year 2014–2015, consumption estimates had been forecasted to rise from 3.1% and 3.5% to 2.1 and 2.175 million tonnes CWE respectively, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

Buffalo are generally fed on coarse feeds; they convert them into the protein-rich lean meat.

When buffalo are reared up to 24 months and fed with milk, their meat is of high quality.

On ad libitum and high concentrate (75:25) based rations the growth rate is 610 g/day (with feed efficiency of 7:1).

[11] Buffalo meat exports from India have been growing at an average of approximately 14% yearly since 2011 and fetched more than $4.8 billion in 2014.

[citation needed] Several databases, such as Agricultural Outlook and United Nations Food, show there is increasing trend of meat consumption in India.

This fall in consumption has been taking place because of an increase in the price of buffalo meat and health consciousness.