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Pakistan removes fee on cattle import from India

B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has removed the `fee' on cattle import from India in an attempt to boost trade.

Cattle were one of the six commodities exempted of all duties and allowed to be imported from India. It hopes to import large numbers to meet domestic demand and contain rising prices.

Daily Times said the Government earlier was charging Rs. 100 per animal. The per fee animal import fee was other than that required to be paid by the importers for acquiring different certification regarding the health of the imported cattle.

The decision was in response to importers' demand, who proposed to the Ministry of Livestock to cut the extra cost on the cattle imports to enable them place big orders.

"We are expecting a consignment of around 500 to 1,000 goats and sheep from India next month. This will reach here through sea route or in launches from India. The prices of imported cattle range from $25 to $50 per animal depending on the weight and quality", Raees Ashraf Tar Muhammed, chairman of the Pakistan Commodity Importers and Traders Association told the paper. He said the import of meat and cattle was increasing with each passing day and in August alone it had received 328 tonnes of Indian meat compared to 224 tonnes imported in July 2005.

After the May decision allowing import of six commodities from India, the private sector in Pakistan is now free to import the listed items from any of the regional countries, including India. The importers are mostly using the land route for quicker arrival of consignments.

"International prices of meat have declined from $1,200 per tonne to $1,050 per tonne," said an importer. "So the import cost from India has also decreased during last two weeks and it would encourage us to sign big deals," Mr Tar said.

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