(August 30, 2017)
President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF), President All Karachi Industrial Alliance (AKIA), Senior Vice Chairman of the Businessmen Panel of FPCCI and Former Provincial Minister Mian Zahid Hussain on Wednesday said Pakistan has acquired the capability to issue the certificate for the safety of food which is to boost exports.
Pakistani exporters who were focused on the Middle East and other countries where safety standards were not stringent but with the establishment of Veterinary Residue Laboratory in Faisalabad they can export food like beef and mutton to US and EU markets, he said.
Mian Zahid Hussain said that the laboratory, established by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has recently earned International Organisation for Standardisation accreditation which is a great achievement.
He said that now Pakistani exporters will get the facility of ISO certification at home saving their time and money while chances of rejection of consignments will come down significantly as EU had rejected 134 consignments of food from Pakistan in one year resulting is great losses and wastage of food.
The laboratory can text one thousand samples per annum which must be enhanced as Pakistan is producing one of the finest food and meat in the world with very little export, he observed.
The Business Leader said that Pakistani livestock farmers’ use different medicines to keep the animals healthy but it can result in rejection if the residue is found in the meat which calls for awareness among the stakeholders.
The latest development can increase the share of livestock in the GDP which currently stands at 12 percent while government can consider establishing a dedicated ministry for this vibrant sector.
There are around 45 food and meat export institutions and their number is bound to swell by the establishment of the laboratory, he said.
