PESHAWAR, Nov 6: Ahead of a harsh winter, cattle are being exported to Afghanistan in bulk to meet the growing food demand there.
The commerce ministry had directed the administrations of the seven tribal agencies to allow export of cattle to Afghanistan, keeping in view the growing demand for meat there, officials said.
Political authorities in Khyber Agency said the food and agriculture ministry, through a notification, had abolished the condition of obtaining no objection certificate for the export of cattle to Afghanistan and every week thousands of bulls and buffaloes were being taken into the country.
The officials disclosed that some non-governmental organizations had also jumped into the business and the authorities concerned recently allowed an Afghan NGO to export some 5,000 cattle head to Afghanistan via Torkham checkpoint.
The bulk supply of cattle, market sources said, had shot up the prices of such animals in the local market and affected the quality of meat.
Nasirpur, the cattle market here, has become a hub of activities. Despite clear instructions from the ministry of food and agriculture allowing free export of cattle, the route permits are issued through selected agents in the market, who charge Rs5,000 per truck, carrying eight to 10 cattle head, including the transportation cost.
Livestock is a significant source of food and income for many households in Afghanistan. A report compiled by the World Bank and United Nations Development Programme said Afghanistan’s livestock was estimated to be around 45.7 million, including sheep, goats and poultry.
The country’s 1.5 million nomadic Kuchi population lives solely on livestock products. But its productivity has declined due to the prolonged drought, land-mines and a limited genetic potential of the livestock breeds.
A herdsman said that with the advent of winter, meat demand had increased in Afghanistan as a large number of Afghans returned from here to their country. In Kabul, meat is sold for Rs80 per kilogramme, in the local market it is available for Rs55.
Dealers in Nasirpur cattle market told this scribe that remarkable increase had been registered in the prices of livestock. Haji Malang, a herdsman, said the price of a buffalo had jumped from Rs12,000 to about Rs15,000.
Officials said that initially animals for slaughter were exported from Balochistan only, but, later, the ministry concerned also authorized the NWFP and political agents of the tribal agencies to allow the export of cattle to Afghanistan.
They said that the dealers, taking undue advantage of the free permit for cattle export to Afghanistan, had indulged in supplying the animals to Iran and even the Gulf countries.
The NWFP Home and Tribal Affairs Secretary Brig Mehmood Shah, when approached, said the government would recommend a check on the export of cattle in bulk to the neighbouring country to maintain balance in supply and demands in the local market.