Dr Alamdar Hussain Malik
Pakistan possesses enormous potential in the livestock and meat industry, yet this potential remains largely underutilized in international trade. The country produces more than 6 million metric tonnes of meat annually, but its total exports of meat and meat preparations are only around US$530 million a year. Pakistan’s reported share of the global halal meat market is only around 0.4 percent, despite its substantial livestock population and natural advantage as a major halal-meat producing country. The contrast between production and exports demonstrates the enormous opportunity available if Pakistan can develop a more competitive export-oriented meat industry.
The opportunity becomes even more significant when viewed against the size of the global halal meat market. Recent market estimates place the global halal meat market at approximately US$1.02 trillion in 2026, with continued growth expected in the coming years. Against this enormous market, Pakistan’s 0.4 percent share is strikingly small. The country therefore needs to move beyond its traditional role as a livestock producer and establish itself as a significant participant in international halal-meat trade.
The global halal-meat trade also demonstrates that successful exporters are not necessarily Muslim-majority countries. Brazil has been reported to account for approximately US$16.2 billion in halal-meat exports, India around US$14.4 billion and the United States approximately US$13.8 billion, while Australia is also a significant supplier to halal markets. These figures demonstrate that success depends on competitive production, internationally recognized halal certification, effective disease control, traceability, modern processing and efficient supply chains.
It is against this backdrop that the recent visit of the high-level Saudi delegation to Pakistan deserves particular appreciation. Led by Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Engineer Abdulrahman A. Al-Fadley, the delegation visited Islamabad from August 26 to 28, 2026, for discussions covering agriculture, livestock, food security, investment and trade. The visit represents an important opportunity to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, particularly in the livestock and meat industry.
The most encouraging development is Saudi Arabia’s interest in increasing imports of Pakistani red meat. According to the joint communiqué issued following the visit, Pakistan currently supplies approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of red meat annually to Saudi Arabia, valued at around US$167 million. Saudi Arabia has expressed interest in gradually doubling these imports.
If this objective is achieved, the volume could rise from 30,000 to 60,000 metric tonnes annually. At the present average export value, this would take the potential annual value of these exports from approximately US$167 million to US$334 million, generating an additional US$167 million in annual export earnings from the Saudi market alone.
This opportunity should be used as a catalyst for wider reform of Pakistan’s meat-export system. The immediate challenge is to ensure that Pakistani exporters can consistently meet Saudi requirements relating to quality, food safety, animal health, halal certification and traceability.
At the heart of this challenge is Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD). Pakistan’s inability to establish adequate FMD control and internationally recognized disease-free zones restricts access to important premium markets. Effective FMD control would therefore have significance far beyond animal health. It could open the door to markets currently inaccessible to Pakistani exporters and, together with modern processing,
traceability and international certification, could potentially raise Pakistan’s meat exports from around US$530 million to US$3–5 billion annually over the medium term. FMD control should consequently be treated as a major national export and economic-growth priority.
The next requirement is to build the infrastructure necessary to support such growth. Pakistan needs internationally compliant slaughterhouses and meat-processing facilities, reliable refrigeration and cold-chain systems, modern quality-control laboratories, internationally credible halal certification and an effective animal identification and traceability mechanism. Without these facilities, increasing production alone will not translate into sustained export growth.
At the farm level, greater attention must be given to livestock productivity and quality. Scientific breeding, improved genetics, better nutrition, feedlot systems and modern farm management can increase the availability of animals that meet international export specifications. Farmers should be integrated into the export value chain so that the benefits of growing international demand reach livestock producers as well.
The Saudi initiative also presents an opportunity to attract Saudi investment into Pakistan’s livestock and meat-processing industry. Investment in commercial livestock farms, feedlots, modern abattoirs, processing plants, cold storage and export logistics could help establish an integrated export-oriented value chain. It would simultaneously create employment, improve rural incomes and introduce modern technologies and management practices into the livestock sector.
The broader bilateral opportunity is equally significant. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are working towards increasing Pakistan’s agricultural and food exports to the Kingdom to US$3 billion over the next two years, with red meat among the priority areas alongside rice, fruits and fruit concentrates, green fodder and water-efficient agricultural technologies.
Pakistan should therefore make the proposed increase in Saudi red-meat imports part of a wider national meat-export strategy. The immediate target should be to facilitate the gradual movement from 30,000 to 60,000 tonnes, while simultaneously using the Saudi market as a gateway to other Gulf and international halal markets.
The economic impact could extend well beyond the direct value of meat exports. Higher international demand would stimulate livestock farming, breeding, feed production, veterinary services, processing, cold-chain logistics and related industries. It would also provide stronger incentives for farmers to improve animal productivity and quality and generate valuable foreign exchange for the country.
The recent Saudi delegation visit has therefore provided Pakistan with an important market opportunity at precisely the time when the country needs to expand its exports and diversify its sources of foreign exchange. The challenge now is implementation. Federal and provincial governments, livestock departments, veterinary institutions, farmers, exporters, processors and investors must work within a coordinated framework with clear targets for disease control, certification, traceability, processing capacity and export growth.
The journey from 30,000 tonnes to 60,000 tonnes should not be viewed merely as an increase in exports to one country. It should be the first step towards a much larger ambition: enabling Pakistan to capture a meaningful share of the approximately US$1 trillion global halal-meat market and transform its livestock resources into a major source of export earnings.
The Saudi delegation has opened a valuable window of opportunity. Pakistan must now convert this opportunity into action—control FMD, modernize its meat industry, attract investment, strengthen certification and traceability, and emerge as a competitive supplier of high-quality halal meat to Saudi Arabia and the wider world.
The writer is Advisor Academics, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Swat andÂ
Former Financial Adviser, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan
