Pakistan pins hopes on Donkeys & Dogs' trade with China; holds mega brainstorming meet 

China has expressed interest in importing donkeys and dogs from Pakistan and has informed Islamabad's Senate Standing Committee on Commerce of the same. The meeting was chaired by Senator Zeeshan Khanzada on Monday when the prospect of export of the said animals to China was raised. Pakistan Senators Abdul Qadir and Dinesh Kumar were optimistic about the donkey and dog export, emphasizing that China may be a major export market, Geo News reported. 

Pakistan's Senate Standing Committee on Commerce agreed that such an export must be facilitated between the two nations as it would build foreign exchange. Senator Qadir, meanwhile, informed the committee that the Chinese ambassador highlighted that PRC wants to export meat as the demand in China is high but the production has slumped in recent years.

Pakistan plans to import 'cheap donkeys' from neighbouring Afghanistan

Pakistan's Senator Muhammad Afridi hailed the offer, saying that the animals were cheap in neighbouring Afghanistan but they have no buyers and therefore, Islamabad might purchase them and sell it to China. Pakistani officials iterated that the import of animals from Afghanistan was banned temporarily due to the spread of lumpy skin disease among the cattle. The committee slammed the fishermen in Balochistan, emphasizing that they catch fish from the deep sea and sell it to foreign trawlers, leading to the loss of billions of dollars of revenue to the national treasury.

It is to be noted that last year, the Punjab government installed a farm in Okara district in order to kick start the export of donkeys to earn foreign exchange for Pakistan. It was the first ever Pakistan government-owned facility in the province and donkeys of several elite breeds, including American, were reared to export to China. Another farm was set up at Bahadurnagar Farm over an area of 3,000 acres, Ary news reported. Bahadurnagar Farm’s manager Dr Mansoor Mubeen told the outlet that the donkeys were contributing to the fast-changing economic trends as they could now make export income for the country.

China's import of Donkeys for Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses has destabilised the world's donkey population. It is unclear what the dogs are for, however.