Daily Times

In a significant development in China-Pakistan bilateral trade, the Chinese customs has allowed the export of Pakistan’s boiled beef to China providing a big opportunity for Pakistani exporters to tap $15 billion Chinese market, Pakistan Ambassador to China, Moin ul Haque said in a statement.

In a landmark decision, the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has granted access to Pakistani boiled beef to enter the Chinese market.

The imported Pakistani beef must originate from cattle younger than 30 months, and the meat must be boneless, having undergone a stringent heat treatment process.

The center of the meat should reach a temperature of at least 70 degrees Celsius for a minimum of 30 minutes.

The production enterprises of heat-treated beef have to be located in Pakistan and operate under Pakistani official supervision, adhering to the veterinary health and public health regulations of both China and Pakistan.

Before exporting heat-treated beef to China, the producer must be registered with China, and only the heat-treated beef produced after the registration date is allowed for export.

The announcement also details extensive requirements about animal disease management, processing conditions, storage, certification, packaging, transportation, and labelling.

Talking to APP, Commercial Counselor, Pakistan Embassy, Beijing, Ghulam Qadir said that with a huge potential to export beef, Pakistan is likely to start exporting boiled meat to the Chinese market in the near future.

China had agreed to import meat from Pakistan during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing in November last. Both sides were in the process of exchanging documents.

Giving further details, he said that beef will be boiled up to 70 degrees centigrade to make it foot and mouth disease (FMD) free before its export to China.

Three processing plants having good reputations and capacity have already been approved by the concerned authorities of China.

About the current potential of meat export, he said that the country could export about 66,000 tons of meat annually but the Chinese market’s demand is huge.

“One Chinese company has a plan to import 50,000 tons of meat from Pakistan. But, we have to maintain supply for the demand of our own consumers in Pakistan”.

The export of meat would play a key role in achieving Pakistan’s export target of US$10 billion to China in the future, he opined.