By Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan can strengthen the competitiveness of its meat and dairy sectors by improving animal productivity, formalising milk collection, expanding cold-chain infrastructure, developing export-focused halal clusters and introducing national traceability systems, according to documents of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research available with Wealth Pakistan.

The documents recommend launching a National Dairy Productivity Enhancement Programme to scale up artificial insemination, sexed semen, embryo transfer and breed improvement initiatives through public-private partnerships.

They note that Pakistan’s milk yield remains significantly below international benchmarks, making productivity improvement the fastest route to food security and farmer profitability. The documents also call for joint support to smallholders through genetics, vaccination and extension services.

Formal milk collection and cold-chain infrastructure have been identified as major requirements for dairy modernisation. The recommendations call for establishing milk collection centres, chilling tanks and refrigerated logistics networks in major livestock clusters.

A modern cold chain would reduce post-harvest losses, improve food safety, increase farmer returns and expand the share of processed dairy products in domestic and export markets.

For export expansion, the documents propose the development of specialised livestock export zones that bring together farms, feedlots, slaughterhouses, processing units, testing laboratories and logistics hubs.

These clusters should meet the market requirements of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Malaysia, China and Central Asia, allowing Pakistan to shift towards value-added halal meat and dairy exports instead of relying on live-animal exports.

The documents also propose a national livestock traceability and disease-control system, including digital animal identification, movement tracking, vaccination records and disease surveillance mechanisms.

The documents state  that international buyers increasingly require traceability and animal health certification. A unified national platform would strengthen biosecurity, improve export compliance and protect livestock assets from disease outbreaks.

The recommendations also call for accelerated investment in farm modernisation and value addition through concessional financing and tax incentives for modern dairy farms, automated milking systems, feed-efficiency technologies, meat processing plants, cheese and yoghurt manufacturing and renewable-energy-powered operations.

The broader policy direction also supports modern livestock markets, accredited laboratories, harmonised standards for milk, meat and feed quality, residue monitoring, nationwide enforcement of modern slaughter and meat standards, integrated dairy-beef development models and technology-driven productivity solutions.

The documents conclude that Pakistan’s livestock sector can become a major driver of food security, rural prosperity and exports through genetic improvement, cold-chain development, export-oriented processing, disease-free livestock production, technology-enabled value addition and strong public-private partnerships.

Credit: INP-WealthPk