Meat export is one of the biggest financial supports in Pakistan’s economy. The following are a few factors affecting meat export in Pakistan:
- Problems in the livestock production system
- Smuggling of livestock
- Slaughtering of female animals
- Issues with the banking system
- Lack of government interest in Halal meat export
- Lack of proper supply chain system
- Non-effective response from overseas embassy stall
- Overtaxing in utility bills
- Overcharging by Quarantine Department
- Access to limited markets
- No recognition as an industry
- Uncertainty of uniform-quality animals throughout the year
Live Stock Production System
The current red meat production system is both traditional and inefficient. Beef mostly comes from the end of career, or emergency slaughtered animals. A lot of baby buffaloes and calves are slaughtered when they are only 1-2 weeks old. Few calves are raised to 60-80kg but on extremely poor and unbalanced diets. The lack of commercial, on-farm livestock feeding could be blamed for the existing price ceiling which is fixed too low to recover the production cost. Traditional and unhygienic slaughtering techniques are major constraints that are not acceptable to those who believe in health and hygiene.
Smuggling of Live Stock
Every day thousands of cattle cross the border into both Iran and Afghanistan, with the connivance of civilians and officials. Trucks bearing cows, sheep, buffaloes, and goats, queue up in Chaman Township, an area bordering Afghanistan, and Taftan town, which shares a border with Iran. According to the media, more than a million animals are smuggled annually to Afghanistan and Iran from the provinces of Baluchistan and Khyber Pakthunkhwa.
Slaughtering of Female Animals
Up to 80% of female Halal animals end up in slaughterhouses across Pakistan due to ineffective implementation of laws preventing the killing of reproductive animals, industry insiders say, raising food insecurity concerns and fear among meat exporters and other stakeholders that the government may soon need to import livestock due to domestic shortages.
Issues with Banking System
The Major issues in the current banking system are no specific rule to handle late payments from clients, and hurdles in the issuance of E-Form. Bank will not cooperate in any problematic matter which will put extra pressure on exporters. The export-friendly Banking system is now the need of the day if we want to excel in our export potential.
Lack of Government interest in Halal Meat Export
No Subsidy:
Higher prices reduce exports. If we look at our neighboring countries, the halal food industry is subsidized in electricity rates, while in our country these prices are higher. Similarly, the halal food industry also requires a lot of raw materials, the import duties of which are very high. The government of Pakistan is not facilitating meat exporters as other countries do, there is no subsidy for the meat sector. Pakistani exporters are struggling to export meat at low prices without any assistance from the government.
Unnecessary Inspection:
On the other hand, governmental institutes like Punjab Food Authority also interfere in export-based slaughterhouses as Animal Quarantine Department is overlooking all export-based slaughterhouses, the role of the Punjab Food Authority is not understandable.
FMD Status:
The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) is against exports from countries with FMD. The OIE restriction, however, leaves an opportunity open for such countries: create FMD-free zones and farms and export from there. Punjab has tried to establish an FMD-free zone in its Cholistan desert but for want of political will and the existence of bureaucratic red-tapism, the initiative didn’t last long though.
Lack of proper supply chain system
One of the many weaknesses of the Pakistani meat industry is the lack of a proper supply chain system; there are many loopholes in the meat supply chain as transparency, hygienic and chilled transportation at and from Airports, and governmental legislation for price fixing of meat and meat products. Also, animal welfare is an integral part of the meat industry, including the proper system for animal care, availability of proper feed resources, reproduction efficiency, breeding techniques and protection from diseases, and bleeding methods must be properly monitored.
Proper vaccination programs and disease prevention systems should be implemented to reduce losses to the maximum. Furthermore, the meat industry was not taken care of seriously in the past as it was considered a sub-segment of the dairy industry. However, this sector is now developing rapidly and has seen rigorous development in the past decade in meat production and processing aspects by reducing wide-spread breeding of inferior animals, developing livestock breeding farms, feeding patterns for animal production, developing meat grading system, cold supply chain management, training of allied stakeholders and especially implementing international food safety and quality management systems can boost the demand for Pakistani produce. Therefore, proper legislation and implementation need to be introduced to both small and large-scale production systems in the country.
Non-effective response from overseas embassy staff
‘One of the main issues in export business is non-payment by importers, so in this case, the only hope is our commercial officer but their role is questionable, they never bother to respond, Due to this situation a huge amount of revenue is stuck in foreign countries in form of non-payments.
Overtaxing in utility bills
The present bills of electricity are of enormous worry for the export of meat. We are paying many extra taxes using electricity as the real cost per unit is tolerable but the burden of added taxes is a concern for the exporters. The industry currently receives the electricity on a commercial rate basis instead we must be benefited under zero-rate fixity like the textile industry as this Halal processed meat industry is an export-oriented unit and overtaxing the industry should be waived off immediately, which will help ensure the smooth flow of meat export internationally.
Overcharging by Quarantine Department:
It is deplorable as the exporters are paying a very extra fee to the quarantine department for the export of meat and meat products. Since the industry is already under pressure, this high demand for fees making the pain worse. For the relief of the industry, the department must charge the same fee of Rs 40 on mutton and Rs 120 on beef, which was fixed four years earlier while the irony is that presently the exporters are paying three-fold higher the amount on the export of the said products.
Moreover, it is great misery that our chambers paying Rs 400 for each survey which was Rs 100 initially. It is demanded to bring down the charges as was set in the past, even to attest the export document, Rs 400 has been charged, which is unacceptable as the exporter has to attest 400 documents in one go, this overpricing is difficult to bear. Therefore, it is very necessary, that the quarantine department of health should not demand extra fees instead take the same amount of fees as was demanded in good old times, The liberation will surely support the Halal meat export industry and will strengthen the morale of exporter to look way forward in strengthening the growth of exports, which consequently support country’s revenue.
Access to limited market:
Many countries are in demand of Halal Meat and it is a huge market but Pakistani meat chilled/frozen value-added meat is only allowed to access the GCC region and a few other markets. The primary reason is the inefficiency of authorities to fight Foot and Mouth disease. This is the biggest obstacle to entering new markets like China, Indonesia, and Russia.
No recognition as an industry:
The meat export sector should be recognized as a separate industry because it contributes to the national economy is very much recognizable but this sector is one of the most neglected sectors by the government. Recently the government has announced kissan package for the agriculture sector Meat industry also required packages like this to flourish and multiply its contribution to the economy of our beloved country.
Uncertainty of uniform-quality animals throughout the year:
Exporters of meat rely on Lahore Bahawalpur and Multan Mandi for their main supply. Ramadan, Eid-ul- Azha, and Muharram, as well as the harvest of wheat and rice, can often cause supply disruptions. These festivals cause price increases of 10-20% in animal prices. After the festival, there is no return or very little decrease in increased price. So government should allot farming areas in the Cholistan region of Pakistan to the exporters to assure a traceable and steady supply of quality animals for meat export.
The Author is the Chairman Standing Committee on Halal Food Imports & Imports