Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday approved a policy to boost Pakistan’s Halal meat exports and directed the formulation of a comprehensive three-year strategy to increase the country’s share in global Halal meat markets.
Chairing a review meeting in Islamabad, the Prime Minister said the strategy should include “practical measures to increase Halal meat exports” and be presented in the next two weeks.
During the meeting, the officials informed the Prime Minister that Pakistan’s total Halal meat production currently stands at 6 million metric tonnes, with sufficient quantity available for export after meeting domestic demand. They also briefed the meeting on measures being taken to increase production and ensure global standard packaging.
He highlighted the importance of coordination between federal ministries and provincial governments and said: “A comprehensive strategy, created through coordination between all relevant ministries and provincial governments, is essential to ensure Pakistan’s participation in the Halal meat market in Muslim countries and around the world.”
The Prime Minister directed the committee tasked with improving Halal meat exports from Pakistan to propose viable measures to improve production, cold storage and other critical factors. He added: “Special measures must be taken to increase Halal meat production in the livestock sector in line with global standards and compete with regional production levels.”
Highlighting the need for coordinated efforts, he said, “Establishing coordinated centers with the cooperation of federal ministries and provincial governments is the need of the hour to improve the production and nutritional value of Halal meat.”
Referring to Pakistan’s potential in Halal meat exports, Shehbaz Sharif assured: “The government will provide all possible assistance for international certification of existing slaughterhouses and bilateral registration with other countries.” He further added that “special measures should be taken to ensure that slaughterhouses are disease-free and maintain cleanliness and hygiene measures in accordance with international standards.”
He also emphasized the adoption of best practices and stated: “A business model must be developed to increase Halal meat exports using globally recognized best practices.”
Recently, the government also finalized a $200 million plan to boost meat exports to Malaysia over the next three to five years, with the halal meat sector to be granted industry status.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister Haroon Akhtar Khan said: “An efficient trade framework for meat exports has been developed. All committee members and ministries have done an outstanding job.”
Food Safety Minister Rana Tanveer Hussain added that modern slaughterhouses would be established in line with Malaysian standards to facilitate compliance and strengthen business potential.
