ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will export 143,000 tons of halal meat to Tajikistan worth $14.5 million in the near future, state media reported on Tuesday amid Islamabad’s efforts to bolster trade with Central Asian countries. 

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, earlier this month, approved Pakistan’s halal meat policy that aims to boost Islamabad’s meat exports to Muslim states. 

In a high-level meeting on Dec. 24, Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain said Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Iran and other Gulf countries are ready to import Pakistani fresh meat and rice. The minister said Tajikistan has expressed the demand to import nearly 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan. 

“According to details, Pakistan will export one hundred and forty-three thousand tons of halal meat to Tajikistan, valued at 14.5 million dollars,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported. 

It did not, however, specify a timeline as to when Islamabad planned to export the halal meat items to the Central Asian nation.

The state media said that effective trade facilitation will increase bilateral trade between Pakistan and Tajikistan to $300 million, strengthening regional economic integration.

Pakistan has recently attempted to increase its halal meat exports to other Muslim countries such as Malaysia. Both countries announced they had agreed to a $200 million halal meat trade quota during Sharif’s visit to Malaysia in October. 

A 2024 report by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) mentioned that the country exported meat worth $512 million in 2024, which included beef, mutton and poultry.

According to the PBS, the UAE remained Pakistan’s top meat export market in 2024 with exports to the Gulf nation reaching $201 million. Meanwhile, meat exports to Saudi Arabia recorded a growth of 65.1 percent last year valued at $141 million.