By Muhammad Asad Tahir Bhawana ISLAMABAD, May 26 (INP-WealthPK): The export of meat by Pakistan has witnessed an increase of two percent as the global market of bovines is expanding rapidly, Wealth-PK reports. Pakistan has great potential and opportunities to increase its share in the global meat market. However, it needs to resolve a few issues like traceability of livestock; foot and mouth disease (FMD); outdated methods for aggregating, transporting, and slaughtering livestock; and its inability to provide frozen deboned beef to importers. The global market for bovines is around $52 billion and it is rising continuously as consumption of meat has become the primary source of protein diet in many developed and developing countries. According to a report of the Pakistan Business Council, the gap for buffalo meat production in Pakistan, as compared to the top thee exporters including Australia, Brazil, and the United States, is about 35 percent. The average weight of a buffalo in these three countries is 297 kilograms, compared to 196 kilograms per animal in Pakistan. Pakistan contributes 0.44 percent only to the global meat market. However, the export by the country of meat is increasing. In April, Pakistan exported meat worth $35.595 million, compared to $29.058 million in the previous month. The country reported a 10.28 percent increase in the export of meat on a month-on-month basis. Similarly, the export of meat by Pakistan rose by two percent on a yearly basis. The country exported meat worth $284.699 million from the July to April period of the current fiscal year, compared to the same period last year when the export of meat was $279.290 million. Around 80 percent of Pakistan’s meat exports include chilled bovine carcasses. The country exported 90 percent of meat in the chilled category including carcasses, bone-in, and deboned bovine. Frozen beef, which is considered of low quality, has a longer shelf life and can be transported anywhere in the world. To compete in this category with top exporters such as China, Japan and the USA, Pakistan needs to follow the quality values of importing countries and phytosanitary standards. Under Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Pakistan exports bovine meat to six countries including United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. These GCC countries mostly demand frozen bovine meat. Around 54 percent of their demand for meat includes frozen bovine meat. Pakistan needs to focus on establishing modern plants to meet the demand for frozen bovine meat in GCC countries. The shortage of livestock in the country is also hampering the efforts of Pakistan to increase exports of meat to other countries. The breed of livestock in the country is also not suitable for catering to international demand as it is not optimised for high yield. Investment is needed in feedlot fattening farms to rear animals of appropriate size and weight. According to a research study conducted by WealthPK, the international market for Pakistan’s bovine meat is also limited due to the slow implementation of quality standards. Pakistan needs to fulfil the quality requirements of the global market to boost the exports of bovine meat.