ISLAMABAD, October 4 — President of the Livestock Welfare Association, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Asif Awan, has called for aligning Pakistan’s natural and agricultural potentials with modern standards to address annual financial losses in the billions of rupees. He stated that only four percent of milk undergoes processing, with the remainder lost under substandard conditions. Awan asserted that if the government implements effective policy reforms, strictly enforces food safety standards, and adopts modern export certification systems, Pakistan could generate an additional USD3 to USD5 billion in annual export revenue.
He urged the immediate formulation of a national livestock export policy, establishment of disease-free zones, and modernization of animal health, vaccination, and traceability systems using advanced technology. International quality certification must be made mandatory for slaughterhouses and milk processing units, while outdated, substandard facilities should be shut down.
A coordination cell comprising the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, food authorities, and the Trade Development Authority should be established to ensure export standards are met, and financial incentives, training, and streamlined certification processes should be introduced for exporters. Awan said that implementing these measures could strengthen Pakistan’s economy through milk and meat exports, stabilize the rural economy, and secure a prominent position in the global Halal food market. Otherwise, despite possessing natural resources, Pakistan will continue to rely on others.
He noted that Pakistan is among the world’s major producers of milk and meat, yet its export sector performance is extremely disappointing, with billions of dollars lost annually due to institutional weaknesses, lack of policy, and failure to meet international standards. Pakistan produces approximately 65 million tons of milk and around 6 million tons of meat annually (comprising both red meat and poultry).
Based on these figures, Pakistan ranks among the top ten to twelve meat-producing nations globally and holds the fourth position in milk production. Despite this, Pakistan’s exports of milk, dairy products, and meat remain extremely low, failing to rise beyond a few tens of millions of dollars. Neighbouring countries such as India, Turkey, and Iran export billions of dollars’ worth of dairy products and Halal meat, whereas Pakistan lags behind despite its fundamental agricultural strength.
Awan attributed this failure primarily to fragmented and weak institutions responsible for food safety regulations, veterinary control systems, and animal health monitoring, including the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, Livestock and Dairy Development Department, and various provincial food authorities such as the Punjab Food Authority, Sindh Food Authority, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, and Balochistan Food Authority, each operating within limited scopes without integration.
Another major issue is the lack of compliance with Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards, as global markets import meat and dairy only from countries with effective traceability, disease control, and animal welfare systems. In Pakistan, the traceability system is non-functional, and slaughterhouses, milk collection centers, and processing units fall short of required standards, with most public and private facilities lacking proper infrastructure.
