PM Approves Duty-Free Livestock Imports for Export Farms
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a plan to expand Pakistan’s livestock exports through duty-free imports for specialised farms.
According to an official account of an October 5 meeting in Islamabad, superior-breed, high-yield animals would be imported, raised at designated farms and subsequently exported.
The prime minister also approved restructuring the livestock sector along corporate lines, with private-sector experts helping design and implement reforms.
Duty Relief Targets Export-Oriented Farms
The direction concerns animals imported for the specialised farms envisaged under the plan.
It should not be interpreted as an unrestricted duty exemption for every livestock importer. The reports reviewed do not provide a customs notification, an effective date or detailed eligibility conditions.
Those implementation documents would clarify how farm operators can access the proposed relief.
Animal Tagging to Track Export Livestock
The prime minister directed authorities to introduce a modern tagging system to ensure animals raised under the scheme are exported.
This links the import concession to the programme’s export objective.
The announcement does not specify the tagging technology, registration process or monitoring arrangements. These details will be important when the framework is put into operation.
Disease-Control Roadmap Requested Within Two Weeks
Authorities were directed to submit a plan with specific targets for tackling foot-and-mouth disease within two weeks.
That deadline concerns preparation and submission of the roadmap. It is not a promise to eliminate the disease nationwide within that period.
The Ministry of National Food Security and Research was also instructed to coordinate with provincial governments on livestock disease control.
Slaughterhouse Standards Form Part of the Plan
The prime minister called for international certification of slaughterhouses and third-party validation of compliance with international standards.
Officials also outlined work on animal disease surveillance, vaccination monitoring, traceability and health and halal certification.
These measures form part of the wider effort to improve export readiness rather than relying on imported breeds alone.
Officials Highlight Sector’s Economic Scale
The meeting was briefed that livestock accounts for approximately 14.97% of the national economy and 63.6% of agricultural value added.
Officials put Pakistan’s livestock population at roughly 245 million animals, with around eight million rural households associated with the sector.
These figures were presented in the meeting briefing and should be understood as attributed estimates.
Meat Exports Provide a Starting Point
According to the briefing, Pakistan’s meat exports reached approximately $530 million in FY2025–26, with major destinations including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Officials identified Malaysia, China and Saudi Arabia as markets offering further opportunities.
Those opportunities do not establish that new market-access agreements or purchase commitments have already been secured.
Reforms Extend Across the Supply Chain
The proposed programme also includes work on feedlot farming, cold-chain infrastructure, deboning, value-added products and export facilities.
Officials identified small-scale production and fragmented supply chains as obstacles to expanding exports.
The policy therefore combines farm development with improvements in processing, handling and market access.
What to Watch Next
The next concrete developments would be the duty-exemption notification, criteria for participating farms and the disease-control roadmap.
Published export targets and certification arrangements would help show how the programme will operate and how progress will be measured.
The approval establishes the government’s policy direction. Its effect on exports will depend on the rules, infrastructure and implementation that follow.