Pakistan can fill meat export vacuum after ban on Brazilian meat

FPCCI official says country can tap buyers through effective planning and support of government

KARACHI: In a bid to improve Pakistan’s dwindling exports, Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Horticulture Chairman Ahmad Jawad has stated that since a host of Brazilian meat buyers in the world have either banned or reduced the import of Brazilian meat, Pakistan can capitalise on the opportunity and fulfill the vacuum.

Jawad said this in a statement on Wednesday after learning that Brazilian meat-packers did not have high quality or hygienic standards.

The main buyers of Brazilian meat were China, Chile, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and European Union, he said.

Meat is the third largest export of Brazil, after soy and iron ore. The country sold beef and poultry products worth $12.6 billion in 2016, he said.

“We can tap the buyers through effective planning and support of the government as Pakistan has the potential of 159 million livestock,” he asserted.

Although Pakistan has sold good quantity of beef and mutton to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, yet it could not export to China, which is a big buyer.

Likewise, poultry, which forms the bulk of meat imports in the region, was left untapped by Pakistan. Jawad mentioned that Pakistan had surplus production of poultry over the last five to seven years but the country did not export its poultry.

For qualifying as poultry exporters, he recommended Pakistan’s poultry farmers and traders to maintain hygiene and quarantine standards along with accreditation by the relevant government agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 13^th, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.