GOAT PRODUCTS & MARKETING
a) Chevon
Goat meat has several desirable features:-
- It is preferred to mutton in India.
- The digestibility coefficient and biological value of dried goat emat are 95.2 and 60.4 per cent, respectively.
- It has less fat due to active disposition of the animal.
- It has no religious taboo.
- It is liked by all classes of people.
- Its markets are well-established.
- Chevon is pinkish-red in colour, coarse-textured and has a characteristic goaty odour.
- Good quality, tender meat is obtained from 6-8 month old goats.
- Black Bengal & Angora chevon is considered more delicious than meat of other goats and fetches more price.
- Guts from goats are preserved in refined salt and exported for use as casings in sausage making.
b) Milk
- Composition of goat milk (%) : Water 86.81, Total solids 13.19, SNF 8.17, Fat 4.17, Protein 3.75, Lactose 4.54, Ash 0.80
- Goat milk protein has a digestibility coefficient of 85% and biological value of 67.5%, and contains many essential amino acids.
- Fat globules are small in size and hence easily assimilated, facilitating easy assimilation in children and invalids.
- It is rich in lactoperoxidase (Lp) which is effective against a variety of bacterial diseases.
c) Skin
The maximum numbers of goat skins are produced in India due to an annual removal of goat of approx. 45%. The finest quality skins for the leather industry are obtained from the Black Bengal goat, and are exported to many countries, particularly to the USA, where they are mostly used in the shoe industry. Goat skins are of two types viz. Amritsar and Calcutta. The former are used as lining for shoes and the latter are used for shoe uppers.
d) Pashmina, Mohair & Hair
Pashmina (or Pashn) is used for production of the magnificent ring shawls of Kashmir. Mohair is the long, straight, uneven, translucent, lustrous fleece from Angora goats. It is used for making blankets, fabrics, summer suitings, linings, braids, nets, rugs, hats, decorative trimmings, bed spreads, show laces, curtains etc. Hair from common goats is used for making ropes, coarse blankets and bags.
e) Manure & Urine
Goat manure helps maintain the soil fertility. It is several times richer in fertilizing ingredients (nitrogen and phosphoric acid) than the manure of cows/buffaloes/sheep. Each goat produces 0.8-1.0 tonnes/year. Goat urine is equally rich in both nitrogen and potash, and is more valuable than that of any other animal. Goat manure fetches ready cash to the owner. He usually leaves the goat to graze on stubbles in the field and is paid by the farmer for his field being thereby manured. It is said that one hectare of land receives a sufficient dressing of manure if 4800 goats are folded there for a night.
Marketing : Goats are mostly sold in lots in livestock fairs, periodical markets and daily markets. Each goat is assessed individually by the buyer. Factors affecting the price are meat, milk yield, breed, age, sex, quality, locality and season. The Govt. of India established marketing cells in the Third Five-Year Plan in various states to regulate the existing markets and organize co-operative markets to facilitate marketing of products, to make market surveys, to collect and disseminate market news, and to advise better marketing methods and adoption of grading procedures.
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Disclaimer : The information on this site is meant as an aid to students and fellow veterinarians and should be used for educational purposes only. The views expressed are solely that of the author and should not be construed to be that of his employer or any other organization.