Restricting Trade: Export of livestock suspended to control meat prices

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has suspended export of livestock and
allowed import of halal meat to control prices in the country.

According
to sources on Thursday, the government has chalked out a comprehensive
strategy to control prices of meat by increasing its supply. According
to data collected by the Ministry of Finance from the Animal Quarantine
Department, 768.66 tonnes of livestock and halal meat was imported
during July 2008 to February 2009. Duty-free import of dairy and
livestock machinery has been allowed by the government to encourage
establishment of value added industry in the livestock sector. The
government has taken a number of steps to control prices of meat in the
country including waiver of the animal quarantine fee to the tune of Rs
100 per animal and test fee Rs 75 per animal aimed at encouraging
import of livestock. A five-year long time project titled ‘Livestock
Production and Development For Meat Production’ as started in 2005
scheduled to be completed in the year 2010 is already under
implementation. This project is providing full technical and partial
financial assistance (maximum 15 percent) for the infrastructure
development at livestock farm level. Under a project of fattening farm
operations, at present 2,162 feedlot fattening farms are in operation,
where currently 22,887 beef animals and 40,853 mutton animals are being
fattened for increasing the meat production in the country, the sources
said.

The private sector has been encouraged to initiate
business dealing directly with cattle farmers thereby eliminating
middlemen and thus reducing costs. M/S Zeenith Associates and Ummar
Hamza Associates have initially opened out their outlets in Lahore,
according to the sources. All district governments have been directed
to improve existing system of checking and price controlling of meat by
taking the profiteers to task. The federal government also directed the
provincial governments to check unauthorised movement of live animals
across the country Afghanistan and Iran borders.

According to
long term strategy, the government has taken a number of long-term
initiatives to improve and increase the production of meat in the
country including the establishment of private sector led company
namely Livestock and Dairy Development Board (LDDB) to increase the
pace of development in livestock. app