KARACHI, March 16: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may lift ban, imposed two years ago, on meat imports from Pakistan, official sources said on Friday.

The ban caused an annual loss of $45 million to the country, in foreign exchange.

After a recent visit of a Saudi technical team, presently a three-member UAE delegation is on a week-long inspection of slaughterhouses in Pakistan.

The UAE team comprises a head of the veterinary service department, Sharjah Municipalities, Dr. Ali Fara Saif; head of the quarantine department (import/export), UAE, Eng Mohammad Ali Hamdan; and senior meat inspector, Abu Dhabi Municipality, Dr. Najdat Khyata.

They visited a private abattoir on Friday, located at Moosa Goat, Razzakabad, near National Highway. The team members inspected all sections of the facilities set-up.

Director, animal quarantine department, ministry of food and agriculture, Dr Homammad Salim Khan, and official of the Export Promotion Bureau, Javed Anwar, and UAE team jointly witnessed the entire processing, from slaughtering of an animal to packing and storage in the chilled room.

Talking to Dawn, head of the UAE delegation Eng Mohammad Ali Hamdan said: “We are satisfied with the set-up which is based on modern and most hygienic standards.”