PM Shehbaz announces to set up national plant to produce livestock vaccines

The federal government will establish a national-level plant using its own resources to produce modern and effective vaccines for livestock, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday.

Chairing a high-level meeting on reforms in the livestock sector, the prime minister directed officials to submit a strategy within a week for setting up the vaccine plant at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), according to a press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

The meeting was informed that vaccines currently available for livestock in Pakistan were not approved by the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), prompting efforts to establish domestic production of purified vaccines.

Shehbaz also directed the restructuring of the Livestock and Dairy Development Board (LDDB), established in 2007 to promote livestock breeding, increase milk and meat production, and develop the sector.

He called for private-sector experts to be included in the board to make it a more effective and functional institution and directed officials to submit a restructuring plan as soon as possible.

The prime minister also ordered steps to bring imported livestock held in special bonded warehouses into value-addition processes, with a view to exporting meat and dairy products.

He said the private sector should take the lead in developing the livestock industry.

The meeting was briefed on progress in reforms aimed at increasing livestock-related exports. Officials said third-party audits of slaughterhouses had begun and that measures were being taken to establish special bonded warehouses for imported livestock.

Federal ministers Rana Tanveer Hussain, Ahsan Iqbal, Azam Nazeer Tarar, Dr Musadik Masood Malik, Ahad Khan Cheema and Jam Kamal Khan, Minister of State for Finance Bilal Azhar Kiani, and senior officials of relevant institutions attended the meeting.