Amid the formal lifting of the ban on the export of donkey hides to China by the government of Pakistan, all is set for the final inspection of the Chinese pharmaceutical company Hengeng Trading Enterprise, in a bid to allow it to operate Pakistan’s first donkey slaughterhouse in Gwadar North Free Zone. The General Administration of Customs of China has already conducted an online inspection of Hengeng to seal approval of its processes and procedures under prescribed laws.

A Balochistan government official told Gwadar Pro that the federal government has finally authorised the export of donkey hides to China as part of an amendment to the Ministry of Commerce’s Export Policy Order.

“According to the Commerce Ministry’s notification, the export of donkey hides shall be allowed only to those firms and companies manufacturing in designated, approved and registered donkey slaughterhouses located in the Gwadar Free Zone North only,” he added In July, 2024, protocols to export donkey skins and meat to China had been finalised, he revealed.

Meanwhile, certification from Pakistan Animal Quarantine (Import and Export of Animals and Animal Products) has also been received by the Chinese company Hengeng Trading Enterprise, a pharmaceutical company of China to run Pakistan’s first donkey slaughterhouse in Gwadar North Free Zone. Pakistan’s first China-led top-notch construction of modern slaughterhouse for donkey meat and hides has been completed and is waiting for official approval to operate in Gwadar North Free Zone. At a cost of 50 million dollars, the slaughterhouse has been built by Hengeng.

An official from the Ministry for Maritime Affairs said that donkeys being reared at many farmhouses in various parts of Punjab will be slaughtered at the state-of-the-art Gwadar North Free Zone slaughterhouse. “Their meat and skins will be further processed keeping in view international standards and later exported to China,” he added

He said that the Gwadar North Free Zone donkey slaughterhouse will lay down the foundation of advanced slaughter technology in Pakistan to help secure the disease-free donkey meat with high-quality preservation through a cold chain. The latest figures showed that the population of donkeys in Pakistan has jumped to 5.9 million during the fiscal year 2023-24.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China