KARACHI: Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture approved meat exports from three Pakistani slaughterhouses to Jordan, a statement said on Friday.

Pakistan has opened a new market for meat exports as Jordan approved three slaughterhouses including Tata Best Foods, The Organic Meat Company in Karachi and Tazij Meats in Lahore to export meat from Pakistan to Jordan, it added.

The recent export approval came by the efforts made jointly by the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) and Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) livestock wing.

Jordan is currently importing meat from different parts of the world including New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Romania, Ukraine, UAE etc. In 2001, Jordan’s meat import was worth $46 million which jumped to $338 million in 2020, more than seven time increase in the import value.

All Pakistan Meat Exporters and Processors Association (APMEPA) and Pakistan’s mission in Amman, Jordan earlier had a detailed meeting with the Minister for Agriculture, Jordan held by Pakistan’s ambassador in Jordan to further convince him to organise a delegation at the earliest and open Jordanian meat market for Pakistan.

Resultantly, a Jordanian delegation consisting of six members (five officials one importer) visited three Pakistani slaughterhouses and met officials of the TDAP, Ministry of Commerce, Animal Quarantine Department, MNFSR’s Livestock Wing, Islamabad and members of APMEPA during their visit in order to evaluate whether value and export chain of Pakistani meat meets the Jordanian SPS standards.

The current approval of the meat exports from Pakistani companies opened a new door for Pakistani companies to expand their export base.