Beijing: As per a report published by the China Economic Net (CEN), Pakistan has sufficient capacity to meet the supply gap of beef in China, allowing for the prospect of the former entering the Chinese market soon, a local news source reported on May 3.
As per the statistics shared in the Economic Survey of Pakistan 2019-20, over 8 million rural households in Pakistan engage in livestock production, contributing to up to 40% of their total income. In fact, animal farming has become the biggest contributor to value added agriculture in Pakistan. As per the information shared by Animal Husbandary Commissioner (operating under National Food Security and Research) Khurshid Ahmed, Pakistan has 208 million food animals, and produces 60 million tons of milk and 20 billion eggs on average in a year.
At the same time, China’s meet (beef +mutton) output stands at 10 million tons, with the country importing 2.1183 million tons of beef in 2020; registering an import rise of 27.65%. China Animal Agriculture Association Deputy Secretary General Li Jinghui, who is also the President of the White-feathered Broiler Alliance, stated that while China was a major meat importer and animal farming played a major role in Pakistan’s economy, annual meat trade between the two countries was very small.
Reportedly, Chinese research institutes have already started providing state of the art technology to Pakistan in order to assist the country in increasing its meat-trade volume with China. By providing vaccine and training personnel, China believes that its CPEC-partner can produce certified and foot-and-mouth-disease (FMD)-free meat and dairy products. In this regard, China is looking to set up FMD-free zones in Balochistan or Punjab. This will help China meet its goal of increasing beef trade with Pakistan.
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