ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA) will play key role in enhancing Pakistani halal exports which will not only promote the meat sector, but also earn valuable foreign exchange.
The halal products are moving into mainstream international food business and their demand is steadily increasing. Pakistan, blessed with considerable livestock resource potential, manpower and strategic location, has great potential to assume a leadership role in global halal food market provided proper strategies and operation mechanism are put in place.
Demand for halal foods is increasing, not only in Muslim countries but non Muslim countries as well due to their well recognized and accepted benefits. Halal consumers market or trade is growing fast in the world.
In the absence of any regulatory authority, Pakistani meat industry is severely handicapped compared to their Brazilian, Australian and even Indian competitors. Despite having the eighth largest herd of cattle and the third largest herd of goats in the world, Pakistan’s animal population is very scattered, which makes procurement of the animals for the abattoir an expensive campaign.
But perhaps the single biggest challenge is regulatory: meat importing nations have strict health codes for the safety of the meat, including a requirement to be able to trace the meat of any diseased animal down to the exact location that it came from, so that the entire herd it was a part of can be slaughtered.
“For the establishment of PHA the Ministry of Science and Technology has finalized a draft of Pakistan Halal Authority Act 2014 in the light of comments of relevant consultation with Ministry of Commerce, Finance Ministry and other stakeholders and was sent to Cabinet Division and Council of Common Interests (CCI) for their approval in principle” a well placed source at Finance Ministry told this scribe here on Friday.
The purpose of establishing PHA is to promote imports and exports, trade and commerce with foreign countries and inter-provincial trade and commerce in Halal articles and processes. The CCI approved the draft PHA Bill 2014 in this March.
PHA will secure international recognition of the Halal logo to build confidence in the Halal Certification system and Pakistani Halal products abroad. Moreover it will co-ordinate with national and international organizations for strengthening the Halal sector and promote and encourage establishment of libraries and laboratories for the purpose of developing the Halal sector.
It will collect and circulate statistical and other information relating to the Halal sector as well as any other function assigned by the Government for development of the Halal sector and promotion of Halal products and processes for purposes of the Act.
PHA develop and implement policies, strategies, plans and program for promotion of imports and exports, trade and commerce with foreign countries and inter-provincial trade and commerce in Halal articles and processes;
It is pertinent to note here that lack of the capability and technical knowhow in processing, storing, transporting and marketing of meat and its products, domestic demand for meat and inadequate surplus for export, week or nonexistent certification system in the country, inadequate regulatory mechanism or back up to monitor the production, processing and animal husbandry practices in the country, lack of training and capacity building programs for farmers, farm managers, slaughter man and dairy processors and few others are main challenges faced Pakistani Halal sector exports.