Punjab animal exports up 43%: 129,581 Livestock Card animals sold abroad, Rs 11bn for farmers

Punjab's livestock sector has recorded a 43% increase in animal exports, Dr Naila Maqsood, Additional Director Livestock for the Sargodha region, said on Tuesday, ARY News reported. She did not give the base period or the export value in dollars.

The headline numbers she gave:

• 129,581 animals reared under the Chief Minister's Livestock Card Scheme have been exported.
• About 400,000 animals are prepared for export in Punjab each year.
• Rural livestock farmers are expected to earn about Rs 11 billion.

Animals exported by district

The Livestock Card: what farmers get

Under the scheme, farmers receive Rs 27,000 per animal for feed and fodder, according to the department. Registered rural women farmers rose from 90 to 1,107. The department also cited Rs 19 billion in financing subsidies for livestock value-chain investment and expected Rs 65 billion of private investment in the meat sector, including five meat-processing plants, five modern slaughterhouses and commercial feedlots.

A "Livestock Connect" system now links 1,725 fattening farms with 20 export slaughterhouses, 88 meat exporters and 34 meat traders.

The real prize: foot-and-mouth-free zones

Most of Pakistan's meat goes to the Gulf because foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) keeps it out of richer markets. Punjab has notified eight FMD-free compartments and plans seven more this year, one of them in Sargodha, with an eye on China, Europe and the United States. The province also plans its first FMD vaccine plant as a public-private partnership with Rs 28 billion of private money.

This builds on the federal push this month: the Prime Minister ordered a foot-and-mouth control plan and duty-free livestock imports for export farms, as we reported.

What it means for you

For a farmer with a few animals, the Rs 27,000 feed grant and a buyer through an export slaughterhouse can change the price you get at the mandi. Apply through the Punjab Livestock Department's district office or helpline, and check the scheme rules on the official portal before paying anyone who offers to "register" you. For consumers, more exports can mean firmer meat prices at home; we will track that when official city rates are published. Women farmers joining the scheme may also find our guide to Punjab's free livestock scheme for women useful.