ISLAMABAD:

Pakistan on Saturday rushed to allow donkey meat export to a Chinese company that had announced it would wind up its operations due to inordinate delays, and warned other Chinese investors to think before investing in the country.

The issue was resolved only after the Prime Minister’s Office intervened on Friday. That triggered a process that ended with the cabinet’s approval for the export of meat within hours, and subsequent permission granted by the Animal Quarantine Department. An export approval that had been pending for months was granted within hours from late Friday evening to midnight of Saturday due to the intervention of the Prime Minister’s Office.

However, government officials also blamed the Chinese company for not meeting the agreed terms for export, including breeding the animal to meet international quality standards.

The government wheel, which had been stuck at the Ministry of National Food Security, the finance ministry and the Cabinet Division, suddenly started moving on Friday when M/s Hangeng Trade Company made a shocking announcement. Dr Tauqir Shah, Advisor to Prime Minister, played a key role in resolving the issue. The matter could have overshadowed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing later this month, including a business?to?business conference.

People familiar with the matter told The Express Tribune that the company became infuriated after the Cabinet Division did not send an April 27 decision of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) to the federal cabinet for ratification for the April 29 meeting. The Cabinet Division had sent the other decisions of the ECC, which it ratified on Wednesday.

When contacted, the secretary of the Cabinet Division said all procedures had been followed for seeking cabinet approval, but sometimes ECC decisions are ratified in phases. He confirmed that the Cabinet Division ratified the animal meat export summary on Friday.

“On May 1, 2026, International Labour Day, we are forced to inform all our employees in Pakistan and China that, due to ongoing non?market factors and operational barriers, the company can no longer sustain normal operations and will be compelled to shut down the factory,” M/s Hangeng Trade Company stated in a rare public announcement

The company further said it “would like to offer a sincere reminder to companies planning to participate in the upcoming B2B forum (China?Pakistan) for considering investment in Pakistan: before making investment decisions, it is essential to carefully assess the potential policy execution gaps and institutional uncertainties that may arise during project implementation”.

The statement also mentioned the prime minister’s scheduled visit to China in the third week of this month and his participation in a business?to?business investment forum.

“We are fully ready to immediately generate foreign exchange, create employment, revitalise Gwadar Port and contribute to the development of CPEC. What we urgently need is a clear, consistent and executable policy environment that allows investments to be implemented.”

Hangeng Trade Company is operating in the Gwadar North Free Zone and focuses on exporting agricultural and animal products to China. It has a slaughterhouse for exporting donkey meat and hides.

The company suffered amid a nose?diving foreign direct investment scenario. Pakistan’s foreign direct investment plunged by half a billion dollars to $1.4 billion during the first nine months of this fiscal year – a reduction of 27%, according to the central bank.

Govt wheels start moving

Officials said that after the company’s announcement, the government wheel started moving and all approvals, including that of the federal cabinet, were secured within no time. On May 1, emergency instructions were issued from the Prime Minister’s Office to immediately circulate a summary for cabinet approval. As a consequence, the summary was moved, the cabinet considered it and “ratified the ECC decision to resolve issues of export of donkey meat and hides from Gwadar Donkey Slaughter House”.

The Cabinet Division, which had earlier not sent the ECC minutes regarding donkey meat exports, forwarded the minutes to the cabinet for approval. Officials said it did not receive clearance from the finance minister’s Office to include the donkey export summary in the cabinet’s summary. A reply from the finance minister’s office about the reasons for not sending the decision to the April 29 cabinet meeting was awaited.

The Ministry of National Food Security, the sponsoring ministry, briefed the ECC that a committee under Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal had given recommendations to resolve the issues. The committee had recommended covering immediate export initiation of donkey meat, establishment of a traceability system, development of a regulatory framework, creation of an institutional mechanism, and allowing donkey slaughter and processing projects only in the Gwadar North Free Zone.

The ECC was informed that the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) had not permitted the import of donkey meat produced before January 16, 2026. Government officials said the Chinese authorities had raised concerns over the quality of meat that the company exported without first breeding the animal, and there were also quality and product origin issues.

ECC decision

The ECC “accorded approval to the extent that donkey meat from Gwadar North Free Zone may be allowed for export strictly in accordance with the import policy of the destination country”.

After the federal cabinet decision late on Friday evening, the food ministry, which had been sitting on the matter, wrote a letter to the Animal Quarantine Department (AQD) on the same day. It informed that the federal government had approved that donkey meat from Gwadar North Free Zone may be allowed for export strictly in accordance with the import policy of the destination country.

After receiving the letter, the animal department informed M/s Hangeng Company that it was allowed to export donkey meat from Gwadar Free Zone strictly in accordance with the import policy of the destination country.

When contacted, Ahsan Iqbal said the planning ministry had been constantly following the issue and gave recommendations for its timely resolution since it was a time?bound issue. He said China had allowed export of meat after January 15, and the company needed urgent permission to ship consignments.

Hangeng Trade stated that it met the inspection and quarantine standards of China Customs and complied with international food safety requirements. However, despite meeting all international export standards, the project did not receive the necessary approvals in practice, and exports remained blocked.

It said the challenges were no longer purely technical or compliance?related, but stemmed from execution?level uncertainties and systemic barriers, which had ultimately made it impossible for the business to continue operating.