By Azeem Ahmed Khan

The government has been urged to establish a poultry export facilitation platform to address regulatory barriers, improve coordination among stakeholders and open new international markets for Pakistan’s poultry products.

According to the recommendations of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research available with Wealth Pakistan, the proposed platform is among a series of measures identified to strengthen the poultry industry and improve its export readiness.

The recommendations emerged from deliberations involving leading poultry producers, processors, industry representatives and technology experts, including K&N’s, Fauji Meat, Big Bird, Pakistan Poultry Association and Forward Solutions.

A key proposal is the establishment of a dedicated poultry export facilitation platform to address regulatory barriers, coordinate stakeholders and facilitate access to new international markets.

The recommendations also call for rationalising regulatory and fiscal frameworks by reducing regulatory burdens, ensuring policy consistency, providing export incentives and improving access to financing for modernisation and investment.

Greater government-industry partnership has also been recommended, with the government adopting a facilitative regulatory approach that supports compliance, investment, innovation and sustainable private-sector growth.

Biosecurity is another major area identified for reform. The recommendations call for mandatory risk-based biosecurity protocols across the poultry value chain, supported by regular audits and certification. They emphasise the use of smart regulation rather than simply increasing the number of regulations.

The documents also recommend strengthening vaccine production and disease surveillance by supporting the animal pharmaceutical sector to promote local vaccine production and establishing real-time surveillance and early-warning systems for major poultry diseases.

Improving compliance with international food-safety standards has been identified as another requirement for enhancing export competitiveness. The recommendations call for accelerated adoption of HACCP, ISO, Halal and other global standards to strengthen food safety and export compliance.

The government has also been urged to encourage exports of processed and ready-to-cook poultry products through targeted incentives, facilitation and market development as part of efforts to move the industry towards higher-value exports.

The proposals emerged from a national dialogue on harnessing Pakistan’s livestock potential, which brought together policymakers, provincial livestock authorities, industry leaders, investors, academia and technical experts to identify constraints and recommend measures for developing a more competitive and export-oriented livestock economy.

Credit: INP-WealthPk