Federal Minister for National Food Security & Research, Mr. Rana Tanveer Hussain, held a high-level meeting with the Ambassador of Brazil to Pakistan, H.E. Mr. Olyntho Vieira, to explore avenues for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the livestock, dairy, meat processing, and agri-food sectors. Special Assistant to the Prime Minister, Mr. Tariq Fatimi, was also present during the meeting. The engagement reflected the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s special interest in the livestock sector and his direction to draw lessons from Brazil’s globally recognized experience.
The Federal Minister highlighted that Brazil is internationally acknowledged as a global leader in livestock production, meat processing, dairy development, and agri-food exports. Brazil possesses the world’s largest commercial cattle herd, exceeding 230 million head, and is the largest exporter of beef and poultry, with beef exports reaching approximately 2.9 million metric tonnes valued at over USD 12 billion in 2024. He noted that Brazil’s success is anchored in strong veterinary governance, export-oriented and SPS-compliant slaughterhouse systems, commercial feedlot fattening models, tropical livestock genetics, and integrated value chains supported by robust public-private collaboration.
The Minister underscored Pakistan’s significant livestock base, comprising over 55 million cattle and 47 million buffalo, while noting that export competitiveness remains constrained by high production costs, limited feedlot finishing systems, suboptimal carcass utilization, and gaps in slaughterhouse design, meat inspection, traceability, and SPS compliance. He emphasized that despite being a Muslim country, Pakistan’s share in the global halal meat market remains minimal, whereas Brazil exports halal meat to a wide range of Muslim countries, demonstrating the importance of institutional efficiency, quality assurance, and value addition.
Highlighting dairy sector opportunities, the Federal Minister noted that Brazil is among the world’s largest milk producers, with annual production exceeding 35 billion litres, largely based on tropical dairy systems well suited to climatic conditions similar to Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan seeks to modernize its dairy sector through improved genetics, feeding systems, milk quality control, and processing infrastructure. The Minister further noted that Pakistan imports soybeans, cotton, and sugar from Brazil, particularly during periods of domestic sugar shortage, and observed that bilateral trade of nearly USD 1 billion currently remains in Brazil’s favor.
Referring to historical cooperation, the Minister recalled that in 1952 Brazil imported cattle from Pakistan due to the excellent health and meat quality of Pakistani livestock, while in recent years Pakistani businesses have imported elite cattle breeds from Brazil. He stressed that a structured government-to-government framework could help address technical quality barriers, improve productivity, and restore competitiveness in Pakistan’s livestock and dairy sectors.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Mr. Tariq Fatimi reiterated that the Prime Minister has identified cattle fattening, dairy production, meat production, and processing as priority areas for livestock development. He emphasized that Pakistan is fully prepared to engage in comprehensive cooperation with Brazil, including the exchange of experts, training programs, institutional collaboration, and reciprocal study visits, and is equally willing to send Pakistani professionals to Brazil to benefit from Brazilian expertise.
The Brazilian Ambassador shared Brazil’s experience of agricultural transformation, noting that in 1970 Brazil was importing nearly 40 percent of its food requirements, after which sustained investment in research, institutional capacity, and industry linkages transformed the sector. As a result, Brazil today produces sufficient food for its population and exports agricultural and livestock products globally, including to Malaysia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. He highlighted the central role of Brazilian institutions, including EMBRAPA, in strengthening research, innovation, and productivity across livestock and dairy value chains.
The Ambassador noted that Brazil’s livestock population is approximately 250 million, exceeding its human population, and emphasized the importance of developing an enabling environment for livestock productivity, disease control, and export readiness. He expressed Brazil’s willingness to explore structured cooperation and work jointly with Pakistan on areas of mutual interest.
To institutionalize collaboration, the Federal Minister proposed the formation of a Pakistan–Brazil Joint Working Group on Livestock and Dairy Cooperation to identify priority areas, coordinate technical engagement, and oversee implementation of agreed initiatives. Both sides agreed that Pakistan would prepare a draft framework for technical cooperation to be shared with the Brazilian side, focusing on upgrading slaughterhouses and meat inspection systems, strengthening SPS and traceability mechanisms, improving meat processing and value addition, introducing efficient feedlot fattening models, and enhancing dairy productivity through tropical genetics and processing technologies. The possibility of launching pilot initiatives, including a model export slaughterhouse with integrated feedlot support and a dairy cluster based on Brazilian tropical dairy systems, was also discussed, with future expansion to be guided by technical evaluations and private-sector investment.
The Federal Minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to aligning this cooperation with national development priorities and its export-led growth strategy. He expressed confidence that collaboration with Brazil would significantly strengthen Pakistan’s livestock, dairy, and meat processing sectors, enhance SPS compliance, improve productivity and value addition, and contribute to national food security and export growth.
