India's 2025 cattle meat consumption is expected to remain flat at 2.99 MMT due to expectations of continued food inflation, according to a recent US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN) report.

Although India's population is increasing with rising household earnings, and evolving consumption habits in favour of meat and meat products, rising food prices limit its growth.

Specifically, inflation in vegetables and pulses - commodities with less elastic demand - is pushing consumers to cut down on meat consumption - a commodity with relatively more elastic demand - to manage their household consumption budget.