The Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP) exudes confidence that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will welcome back fresh chilled meat imports from Pakistan by sea. This expression of trust surfaces after the recent embargo by the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment due to quality concerns.
Recent incidents highlighted shipments of meat from Pakistan arriving in the UAE as sub-standard. Early investigations attribute these lapses to refrigeration system malfunctions within the reefer containers. TDAP emphasized that maintaining the meat’s coolness during transit is the shipping line’s accountability. “It has also been learned that the exporters concerned have filed damages against the shipping line,” a TDAP representative revealed.
Bridging this disparity, the Pakistani Consulate in Dubai is orchestrating an official dialogue with the UAE’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment. The intent is to delineate Pakistan’s perspective and directly address underlying apprehensions that culminated in the ban. TDAP’s statement conveyed a clear aim to alleviate the UAE authority’s doubts and simultaneously advocate for the ban’s reversal.
Today, The News unveiled that the UAE has recalibrated its meat import standards from Pakistan. A recent notification from the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment dictates that meat, whether fresh or chilled, must be vacuum-packed or sealed in modified-atmosphere packaging, with a viable shelf life spanning 60 to 120 days post-slaughter. This regulation activates on October 10, 2023.
These rules pertain not only to fresh or chilled meat but to all forms of packaged fresh or chilled meat that cannot be imported from Pakistan by sea. Recognizing the UAE as a pivotal market for Pakistani meat, the notification also enumerates 18 sanctioned Pakistani enterprises allowed to export meat and poultry products. This roster includes esteemed names like Zenith Associates, P.K. Livestock and Meat Co. (Pvt) Ltd, and Tata Best Foods.
With ongoing deliberations and TDAP’s forward-facing strategy, a harmonious and advantageous resolution for both nations is on the horizon’s brink
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