Livestock contributes ‘60% to agricultural GDP’

Fakhar Imam says sector should be quantified

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam on Wednesday said the livestock sector contribution to the agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) is 60%.

“For the last 14 years, the livestock census has not taken place. The country’s livestock should be quantified,” he said while presiding over a meeting on the livestock sector.

However, he said the country’s livestock export witnessed an increase this year.

According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2019-20, more than eight million rural families are engaged in the livestock production and deriving more than 35-40 per cent of their income from the sector. Over the years, livestock as subsector has surpassed crops as the biggest contributor to value addition in agriculture.

It also said the gross value addition of livestock increased from Rs1,430 billion in 2018-19 to Rs1,466 billion in 2019-20, showing an increase of 2.5% over the same period of last year.

During the meeting, the minister was briefed that there were seven exclusive and nine inclusive functions related to the livestock wing among 24 functions of the NFSR.

In the dairy sector, it was told that the total milk production was estimated at 61.69 million tonnes. Out of which, 49.7 million tonnes of milk was estimated to be available for human consumption that has 6.1 per cent share in the GDP.

During year 2019-20, the officials added the total meat production was 4.75 million tonnes.

The official also told that the livestock sector provides 77.6 million hides to the leather industry and contributes to five per cent of total exports. It was highlighted that it accounts for about three per cent of the total exports.

The minister stressed the need for inter-provincial coordination for sectoral growth. “There must be control of trans-boundary animal diseases (FMD, PPR, AI and Zoonotic diseases) of trade and economic importance through provincial participation,” he added.

He also called for exploring new markets for export of meat and dairy products with a focus on global halal food trade market.

Pakistan has been planning to expand its market by increasing trade and economic activities with neighbouring countries. In a meeting with Iranian ambassador in July, the national food minister said Pakistan’s agro-economy was a major turning point for the overall economy.

Pointing to the relations between Pakistan and Iran, the minister said both countries relished the friendly ties while people of the two countries were tied in cultural and religious bonds that had expanded over centuries.

Moreover, Pakistan showed interest in exporting Halal meat and its products to Iran. Pakistan has 36 registered slaughterhouses for meat export.