Industrial Utilization of Sorghum in India

Patterns of human consumption of sorghum are well documented. Much less is known about the industrial utilization of the crop and the market opportunities this presents for poor sorghum producers. This study documents the emerging patterns of industrial utilization and provides evidence that between 10-40% of rainy-season sorghum is used for nonfood uses. Postrainy-season sorghum utilization remains solely for food purposes as it is not price competitive as an industrial raw material. The main utilization sectors are the poultry feed sector (approximately 0.5 million t per year); the dairy feed sector (approximately 0.2 million t per year); and the grain alcohol sector (approximately 0.1 million t per year). In the most important utilization sector, poultry feed, sorghum utilization is related to the price of competing cereals, particularly maize. Sorghum is used when prices are 20-30% lower than that of maize. With the demand for poultry feed estimated to be 15% per year, and with limited opportunities for increased maize production, the demand for sorghum is likely to strengthen. However, the impact of trade liberalization and particularly maize imports will have to be considered. Institutional arrangements linking the key utilization industries and related public sector research have in the past been weak. Improving these linkages through public-private sector partnerships would help to further support private sector market development for a commodity produced by some of India's poorest farmers. This publication is an output from a research project funded by the United Kingdom Department for International Development for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of DFID [R 6687 : Crop Post-Harvest Programme]. © 2000 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi -Ar id Tropics ( ICRISAT) . Al l rights reserved. Except for quotations of short passages for the purposes of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval systems, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of ICRISAT. It is hoped that this copyright declaration wi l l not diminish the bona fide use of its research findings in agricultural research and development in or for the tropics. The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not impl y the expression of any opinion of the material in this publication whatsoever on the part of ICRISAT concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Where trade names are used this does not constitute endorsement of or discrimination against any product by the Institute