As a result, much of the buffalo meat sold is of poor quality. But when buffaloes are properly reared and fed, their meat is tender and palatable. In both India and Nepal, more meat is produced from buffaloes than from cattle in spite of the fact that buffalo population is outnumbered by cattle by 1 to 3 in India and 1 to 1.5 in Nepal, due to Hindi religious belief and sentiments toward cattle. Water buffaloes are exported for slaughter from India and Pakistan to the Middle East and from Thailand and Australia to Hong Kong. Demand for meat is so great that Thailand's buffalo population has dropped from 7 million to 5.7 million head in the last 20 years, a period in which the human population has more than doubled.
Buffaloes are lean animals.
Although a layer of subcutaneous fat covers the carcass, it is usually thinner than that on comparably fed cattle. Even animals that appear to be fat prove to be largely muscle. Other buffalo breeds may differ. This lower level of fat is sometimes seen even under feedlot conditions, although animals liberally fed concentrated rations will eventually fatten. In general, the buffalo carcass has rounder ribs, a higher proportion of muscle, and a lower proportion of bone and fat than beef has.