Pakistan targets Chinese beef market

CHINA imports large quantities of beef to meet domestic demand, but despite good diplomatic relations with Pakistan, beef produced here has not reached the Chinese market due to outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease in cattle herds.

China is a major importer of MEAT and livestock plays an important role in Pakistan's economy, but the annual volume of meat trade between the two countries is very small. So far, China has not opened the door to beef imports from Pakistan, as Pakistan is still on the "list of countries and regions with a predominant epidemic of animals banned from import."

In 2019, both countries signed the FMD-Free Zone Agreement. The Government of Pakistan is implementing a vaccination program to address the FMD problem. Thus, Pakistan is expected to move from the World Organization for Animal HEALTH (OIE) Stage 2 category for countries (where FMD is reduced to target areas) to Stage 3.

However, the establishment of an FMD-free zone is highly dependent on vaccines and vaccination programs. So far, China has expressed interest in building a plant for the production of veterinary vaccines in the port of Gwadar, Pakistan. “We will build a plant for the production of veterinary vaccines in the port of Gwadar, Pakistan. The annual production of FMD vaccine is expected to be 700 million doses. it is not only used in Pakistan, but also exported to the Middle East and Asian countries,” commented Shen Jing, Deputy General Manager of QYH Biotech, a company of which China Animal Husbandry Industry is a shareholder.

In 2020, China's beef production reached 6.72 million tons, while imports reached 2.1183 million tons, up 27.65%, setting a record for beef imports. Pakistan is one of the top 10 beef producers in the world, but exports are slowing down due to biosecurity reasons.