LAHORE: Punjab’s livestock sector has recorded a 43 percent increase in animal exports, with 400,000 animals prepared for export in a year and rural livestock farmers expected to earn Rs 11 billion.
Under the Livestock Card scheme launched by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, farmers are receiving Rs 27,000 per animal to meet feed and fodder expenses, the handout said.
The provincial government has notified eight Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) compartments and plans to establish seven more this year to facilitate exports to China, Europe and the United States. A total of 129,581 animals reared under the Livestock Card scheme have been exported, it added.
The government plans to establish five meat-processing plants and five modern slaughterhouses, alongside meat-packing facilities and commercial and corporate feedlots. It will provide Rs 19 billion in financing subsidies for integrated livestock value-chain investments, while private investment of Rs65bn is expected in the meat value chain.
Punjab will also establish its first FMD vaccine production unit under a public-private partnership, with private investment of Rs28bn, according to the handout.
The district-wise export figures include 20,000 animals from Lahore, 24,297 from Bahawalpur, 12,529 from Faisalabad, 21,000 from Gujranwala and Gujrat, 27,000 from Multan, 22,000 from Sargodha and 2,661 from Sahiwal.
Under the Livestock Connect system, the government has established direct links with 1,725 fattening farms, 20 export slaughterhouses, 88 meat exporters and 34 meat traders.
The number of rural women livestock farmers registered under the Livestock Card scheme has increased from 90 to 1,107, the handout said.
The chief minister said the government aimed to connect Punjab’s livestock farmers with national exporters and international websites to expand their access to markets and establish the province as a regional livestock hub.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026