Pakistan is planning to export donkeys to China, following a Rs 1 billion ($9.5 million) investment in its “Donkey Development Programme.” The plan aims to attract Chinese investors in the northwestern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province.
Actions are being made to increase the donkey population in the province. China highly values donkeys for its hide which is used in manufacturing medicine and other products, an official document said.
According to a report by The Express Tribune, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa-China Sustainable Donkey Development Programme is one of the numerous investment portfolios the province has prepared to encourage Chinese investors in its agriculture sector. The project is under the bold China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) worth $46 billion.
The report said that the plan to export donkeys will be introduced to investors in two-day road show scheduled in China this month.
“The proposed project will help improve the socio-economic status of donkey-rearing communities by improving the health and production of local donkeys. New technologies will be introduced and work will be done on capacity building of donkey breeders and services they provide," the document said.
The government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province will “develop linkages in order to improve prices of donkeys and enhance the income of breeders and traders," it added.
The document also justified the Rs 1 billion cost of the project by asserting that the plan will meet “not only its investment cost but also generate a good amount of revenue.”
Animal shelters, buildings for semen production, offices, as well as residential compounds for the staff shall be constructed by the investors. The investors also have to buy the animals and the needed machinery and set arrangements to generate necessary electricity from solar energy.
On the other hand, the provincial government will watch over the utilities and supply technical and non-technical workers to the farms.
“The project can be executed through joint venture mutually agreed between the provincial government and the investor. It is also open for state-owned, state-supported and private entities,” the document said.
Pakistan hopes to attract Chinese investors through its plan to export donkeys to China.