CM Maryam leads Punjab’s push to export one million livestock

• Provincial govt signs MoUs with seven firms, including Chinese meat giant in major meat export push

• PAMCO partnership to set up boiler unit for boiled meat exports, with targets set for fattening 700,000 animals for overseas markets

• Punjab CM orders veterinary hospitals, mobile dispensaries in every tehsil, introducing mechanised livestock farming with 60pc subsidy on machinery

 LAHORE: Punjab has set an ambitious target to export one million livestock as the provincial government signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with seven entities, including a Chinese global meat company, in a major push to boost meat exports and modernise the livestock sector.

The development marks a key step in the livestock reforms spearheaded by Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, aimed at enhancing export capacity and improving the sector’s commercial viability.

Under the agreements, the Chinese meat company, in collaboration with Punjab Agriculture and Meat Company (PAMCO), will establish a boiler unit in Punjab to facilitate the large-scale preparation of boiled meat for export.

Officials said meat companies would procure meat from around 300,000 animals for export under the new arrangements.

As part of the export plan, the government has set targets for the fattening of 300,000 buffaloes and cattle, along with 300,000 sheep and rams, while another 100,000 goats and sheep will be reared specifically for export.

Chairing a special video-link meeting on Saturday, the chief minister approved a series of key decisions for the livestock sector, including doubling the quota for free livestock distribution to rural women. Participants were given a detailed briefing on ongoing initiatives, while Provincial Minister for Livestock Ashiq Hussain Kirmani updated the forum on progress.

To strengthen animal healthcare infrastructure, the chief minister directed the establishment of state-of-the-art veterinary hospitals in every tehsil and ordered the deployment of four mobile veterinary dispensaries in each tehsil to provide treatment at the village level.

The meeting was informed that mechanisation would be introduced in Punjab’s livestock farming sector for the first time, with the provincial government offering up to 60 per cent subsidy on machinery, including milk chillers, mixing machines, milk can coolers, weighing scales, feed mixers and pilot machines.

In South Punjab, 9,255 animals have already been distributed free of cost among widowed and divorced women across 12 districts under the government’s livestock support programme.

To meet the export target and improve breeding standards, authorities plan to tag two million animals and provide two million subsidised semen doses.

Officials also told the meeting that no cases of Haemorrhagic septicaemia or Lumpy skin disease have been reported in Punjab’s livestock since 2022, including after recent floods.

The briefing noted that while imported vaccines for lumpy skin disease cost Rs300 per dose, a locally produced vaccine is available at just Rs30.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister said past neglect of the livestock sector was regrettable, stressing that livestock farming remained a crucial pillar of economic self-reliance and rural prosperity.

Collective action needed to eradicate malaria

Separately, in her message on World Malaria Day, Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said malaria remained a dangerous but curable disease and stressed that collective action was essential for its eradication.

She said the Punjab government had taken special measures to prevent malaria, including free testing facilities, and urged the public to adopt preventive measures to support elimination efforts.

The chief minister added that the health and safety of every individual and family in Punjab remained the government’s top priority.