By Muhammad Luqman

The Punjab government plans to strengthen the meat and dairy value chains to raise Pakistan's livestock exports to over $4 billion through a combined public and private sector investment of Rs149.9 billion.

According to official documents available with Wealth Pakistan, Punjab's livestock sector represents a major untapped export opportunity. Pakistan's meat exports currently stand at $517 million, accounting for only 0.3 per cent of the global meat market.

However, access to premium international markets remains constrained by the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease, inadequate quality assurance and cold-chain infrastructure, limited processing capacity, and insufficient certification facilities. The initiative seeks to develop an integrated meat value chain comprising modern slaughterhouses, feedlots, meat processing and packing facilities, certification systems, disease control measures, and research and development.

The government's direct investment in the meat sector will amount to Rs19.1 billion, while private sector investment is expected to be significantly higher. The proposed meat value chain will cover the entire production process, from live animals at the farm gate to slaughtered carcasses, chilled and frozen meat, edible offal, processed meat products, by-products, and the gelatin and collagen industry.

Pakistan's meat exports are currently destined mainly for the United Arab Emirates (38.4 per cent), Saudi Arabia (29.1 per cent), Kuwait (9.4 per cent), and Qatar (6.3 per cent), while the remaining 26.8 per cent are exported to other markets.

According to the documents, the plan is expected to increase milk and meat yields by 25 per cent, while creating more than 15,000 jobs each in the meat and dairy sectors. Meat exports are projected to rise by 200 per cent, while post-slaughter losses will decline by 12 per cent. The plan is also expected to reduce milk and meat imports by $40 million.

Proposed investments in the meat value chain include meat processing plants costing Rs2.7 billion per unit, modern slaughterhouses and meat offal processing plants at Rs2.1 billion per unit, commercial-scale feedlots at Rs750 million per unit, corporate feedlots at Rs4 billion per unit, and integrated meat packing houses costing Rs4 billion each.

To improve certification and compliance with international standards, the private sector is expected to invest Rs65 billion in the meat value chain, while the government will provide a financing subsidy of Rs19.1 billion.

The documents also note that Punjab's dairy sector, despite being one of the province's largest agricultural industries, suffers from limited value addition, inadequate processing capacity, weak cold-chain infrastructure, and poor-quality management systems. Under the proposed programme, the government will strengthen the dairy value chain through investments in processing facilities, milk collection centres, cold-chain logistics, livestock financing, farmer training, disease control, and supply chain support systems.

The government will invest Rs1.5 billion in the dairy value chain. Pakistan's milk exports currently stand at $26.2 million, representing a mere 0.0001 per cent share of the global dairy market. Despite Punjab's cattle and buffalo population of 57 million, dairy exports remain minimal, while post-harvest milk losses are estimated at 20 per cent.

The proposed dairy value chain will encompass raw milk collection, primary and rural dairy products, fat-based dairy products, fermented dairy products, cheese and other dairy foods, dairy ingredients, nutraceuticals, functional dairy products, and export-oriented dairy production.

According to the official documents, planned investments include milk pasteurisation and packaging plants costing Rs30 million per unit, butter and ghee processing units at Rs83 million per unit, ice cream processing plants at Rs150 million per unit, and milk powder processing plants at Rs300 million per unit. Farm-level investments will include total mixed ration wagons (13-tonne) at Rs10 million per unit and milking parlours (10-animal) at Rs25 million per unit.

Private sector investment in the dairy value chain has been estimated at Rs5 billion, while the government will provide a financing subsidy of Rs1.5 billion.

Overall, the government plans to invest Rs59 billion in the livestock value chain. Of this, Rs29 billion has been earmarked for the meat value chain. Interest-free loans worth Rs6.8 billion will be provided to farmers through the Punjab Livestock Card programme. The dairy value chain is expected to attract a total investment of Rs30 billion.

Credit: INP-WealthPk