By Muhammad Luqman
The first container of fresh meat from Pakistan has reached Abu Dhabi Port through Sea .The product was declared fit by Food inspector at Abu Dhabi slaughterhouse. Earlier, Pakistan used to export meat to UAE by air.
Pakistan is the 5th largest exporter of fresh meat and meat products to the United Arab Emirates with an average annual export of around US$ 100 million. UAE’s total imports of fresh meat (Beef, Mutton, Lamb etc) is around US$ 750-800 million..
“This is the first consignment containing 9 metric ton of beef sent by Pakistan through sea,” says Kamran Khan, Commercial Secretary in Pakistan’s embassy in UAE,.,
A UAE firm had entered into deal during EXPO Pakistan 2017 held in port city of Karachi during the second week of November.
Kamran Khan while dilating upon the issues faced by meat exporters in Pakistan, said that currently, majority of the fresh meat shipments are airlifted from Pakistan due to delays in sea shipments which raises the cost rendering our products less competitive in terms of price. Khan added that the Embassy of Pakistan has taken up the matter with relevant authorities in Pakistan to introduce a specialized fast speed cargo vessel between Karachi and UAE to reduce transit time and cost. This would not only help the meat exporters but would also enable exporters of fresh fruits & vegetables to ship perishable items through sea at a reduced cost.
