Meat export potential remains untapped sans livestock policy

KARACHI: Pakistan barely exports four percent of beef and veal produced in a year as absence of livestock policy hinders tapping of potential overseas markets and gives unorganised sector a leeway to fleece consumers.

This is despite a fact that the country is among the top 10 beef and veal producers in the world. The country annually produces 1.8 million tons of beef and veal, a German online portal for statistics Statista said, citing data from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and US Department of Agriculture.

Statista’s data showed the United States was the biggest producer with 12.7 million tons, followed by Brazil (10.2 million tons), European Union (7.8 million tons), China (7.4 million tons), India (4.3 million tons), Argentina (3 million tons), Australia (2.2 million tons), Mexico (2 million tons), Turkey and Russia 1.4 million tons each.

Also read: PM approves model agro produce market in Lahore

Exports of meat and meat preparations amounted to $242.799 million in the last fiscal year, up 7.61 percent over the preceding fiscal year. The exports accounted for merely 1.1 percent of the country’s total exports of $22.979 billion in FY2019. Pakistan is self-sufficient in meat production. Local consumption is estimated at 15 kilograms per capita.

Kamran Khalili, chief executive officer of Alshaheer Foods Limited said the government should work on its strength that is livestock sector as the country is an agriculture-based economy. Alshaheer Foods is one of the leading meat exporters from Pakistan and operates with local brand MeatOne.

Khalili said exports volume also covers offal and other wastes. Otherwise, annual meat exports alone are not beyond $200 million.

“We can’t increase export revenue from meat products until the government announces a livestock policy,” he said, talking over the phone on Tuesday.

Economist Ashfaque Hasan termed the mantra of potential as ‘defeatist approach’. “There is a potential everywhere,” said Hasan, who was appointed as a member of the government Economic Advisory Council when the present government took the office last year.

“But, it is true there is no livestock policy,” he added. “Presently only milk sector thrives.”

A latest Pakistan Economic Survey report said livestock subsector is a source of 35-40 percent of income for more than eight million rural families and providing them food security by supplementing high value protein of animal origin. Livestock exports account for around 3.1 percent of the country’s gross exports.

“Despite the fact that livestock subsector could not attract large amount of investment due to its inherent subsistence and structural characteristics, this sector has shown a healthy growth of 4 percent in 2018/19 over the previous year of 2017/18.”

The survey report said livestock subsector has surpassed the crop subsector as the biggest contributor to value-added in agriculture. “Presently it contributes 60.5 percent to the overall agricultural (sector) and 11.2 percent to the GDP,” it added. “Gross value addition of livestock has increased from Rs1,384 billion (2017/18) to Rs1,440 billion (2018/19), showing an increase of 4 percent over the same period last year.”

MeatOne and newcomer Fauji Meat are promising hygienic meat and meat products for Pakistanis. But, the products are beyond the buying power of low-income group.

There is an import of meat from India, but it’s of low quality and consumed in industrial and unorganised sector. Meat products from Australia are consumed in high-end restaurants.

“We used to import livestock from India, but now the transportation across the border has been halted,” Hasan said, referring to ongoing Pakistan-India conflict. “Widening demand and supply gap causes prices to spike.”

Khalili said cattle in Pakistan are raised for dairy products instead of meat production. People raise livestock without government’s support. They could, however, produce two to three cattle. Usually, young animals with tender flesh are sold in the local market as substitute of goats. “But, if they are used after reaching their maturity, there would be a 50 percent increase in yields.”