ISLAMABAD: The first shipment of 18 metric tonnes of Halal meat from Pakistan has been dispatched from Karachi and it will reach Tashkent within a week.
Adviser to the PM on Commerce and Investment Abdul Razak Dawood announced this in a tweet on Thursday. “The ministry of commerce’s Silk Route Reconnect policy for Central Asia Republics (CARs) & beyond is now bearing fruit. For the last year and a half, we have been extensively engaged with CARs,” the advisor tweeted.
The adviser said that the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Transit Trade Agreement have been signed with Uzbekistan. Similar agreements are being explored with other CARs, he added. “We urge our exporters to utilise this new window opportunity,” he further said.
As a result of Pakistan’s admission to the International Transport of Goods (TIR) Convention, new avenues of regional commerce have opened up, and bilateral trade between Pakistan and Central Asian countries is increasing. Pakistani exporters have begun shipping Halal beef to Uzbekistan by land, taking advantage of the potential for commerce with Central Asian countries.
According to Malik Sher Khan, CEO of the Shaheen Group, there is a large market for Halal food in Central Asia, and TIR has made it simpler for Pakistan to enter the region. “In one month, 900 tonnes of meat will be shipped to Tashkent via Torkham in 50 consignments of 18 tonnes each,” he said.
He said he was in talks with Uzbekistan about exporting meat to Tajikistan. “Increase in bilateral trade with Central Asian states will facilitate freight services and push down fares,” he concluded.
