THE Centre for Applied Policy Research in Livestock has come up with a policy paper, called ‘Pakistan meat exports: strategising productivity enhancement’.

The paper defines the ‘unique moment’ that it says has arrived for Pakistan’s halal meat market and the meat export potential. It lists factors which, if properly dealt with, could open huge vistas for Pakistani meat.

First, the international market is expanding at a very brisk pace, having grown from $0.5bn to $1.5bn over the last five years. Second, Pakistan sits in a region — from the Middle East to the Far East — that is a huge importer of meat, with next-door China emerging as the biggest buyer.

The CPEC, when developed, could take Pakistani meat directly into China.

With Indian exports window closing, Pakistan with the right policy choices could fill the void

Though India has emerged as the biggest exporter, its current internal social strife over the sacred cow has led to the closure of over 50pc slaughter houses in Utter Pradesh (UP), which had been leading the exports drive. With the Indian exports window closing, Pakistan with the right policy choices could fill the void.

To realise the export potential, the paper suggests short-, medium- and long-term plans. In the short-term, it, however, proposes de-capping domestic meat price, coupled with standardisation of meat and meat products.

It also suggests tagging the source of meat — cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and age of the animal etc. Traceability — backwards linkages right up to farm — is still another suggestion.

Efficient customs and quarantine services, credit insurance for exporters and developing data base of feedlot farmers are other policy measures.

In the medium-term, the paper advocates measures for the eradication of the foot and mouth disease (FMD) at national and provincial levels.

Developing, registering and documenting disease-free zones in a way that inspires international confidence and enhances Pakistani exports competitiveness in the world market is essential.

Easy loans for the sector could help develop the launching pad for increasing export.

In the longer run, the paper thinks a meat products development centre could be set up to keep the domestic market abreast with international trends and demands. Breed improvement and relaxed taxation regime are also essentials for the meat market.

Pakistan, along with geographical advantages, has cheap labour as compared to competing exporting countries. It could help develop export market quickly. But Pakistan has to change its business model.

Currently, it has 17 meat processing units — nine of them in Sindh and eight in Punjab — and all of them are owned by the private sector (read butcher families, who also has relatives in the Middle East selling meat).

There are only 35 exporters, mainly sending meat to the Middle East. The total volume of Pakistani exports, out of $1.5bn global market, is $244m.

Pakistan has a reasonable number of animals but suffers from ineffective marketing and supply chain. A regular business requires quality products, consistent supply of goods and a very vigilant supply chain in which Pakistan lags.

For competing in the world market, all government institutions, universities, research and development organisations and industry have to synchronise their efforts towards one goal: claiming more shares in the world market over the next five years.

“The current meat business model is weak as the entire process is personalised within the families that have been dealing in meat and its products for generations and are content with meeting small demand of their own outlets in the Middle East,” explains Muhammad Zubair, who is trying to set up his own business.

The inherent weakness of this personalised model is that it cannot go beyond a certain point. The statistics prove the point: the entire country has 17 processing units, 35 exporters and total volume increasing from $123m in 2010 to current $244m.

If the government thinks that it can earn through meat exports, it, it should open up the business for investment — making it financially lucrative for all stakeholders. The current model needs some very basic policy improvements that only the government can provide, he suggests.

Published in Dawn, The Business and Finance Weekly, May 15th, 2017