Traders hail PM's promise of Wagah animal quarantine

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's announcement for setting up an animal quarantine at Wagah has been welcomed by livestock exporters in the state. Singh's announcement was made during his visit to the holy city of Amritsar.

An animal quarantine at Wagah is expected to boost the export of livestock to Pakistan, where there is a huge demand for livestock. Experts say the demand is likely to grow manifold and once the quarantine is set up, about 500 animals can be exported a week. Apart from making the export of livestock economically viable for the exporters, the move is likely to facilitate exports to Afghanistan.

Way back in April 2006, the Pakistan government allowed five items "" onions, potatoes, tomatoes, garlic and meat and livestock (including buffaloes, cows, goats, sheep and camels)""to be imported from India through the Wagah land route. At present, in the absence of quarantine facilities at Wagah, exporters have to travel all the way to Delhi with their livestock to get a certificate declaring that the animals to be exported are free from diseases. The entire process takes about 10-12 days and is costly.

Last year, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh failed to bring an Arabian horse - gifted to him by his Pakistan Punjab counterpart Pervaiz Elahi - into India as no animal quarantine facilities were available at Wagah.

The absence of such infrastructure facilities, which are a must for import and export of livestock, creates hurdles for Punjab-based exporters. Delhi exporters benefit from this as they are well-equipped to export meat and livestock.

Narain Exim Corporation President, Rajdeep Singh Uppal said, "Although the animals are procured from the local market, we have to send it to Delhi for medical fitness certification. There, the animals are quarantined and blood samples are taken and sent to Bareili, where they are examined. The entire process takes about 10 days. Apart from the transportation cost, we have to bear the quarantine and blood testing charges, so it it is not economically viable for us."

Uppal said the setting up quarantine facilities at Wagah would give a fillip to the livestock trade. Narain Exim has exported about 6 consignments (1 consignment contains 200-250 animals) of goat and sheep to Pakistan. Livestock export has huge potential and Afghanistan can also be a destination, he added.

Commenting on buffalo export, he said, "Nine months earlier, I asked for permission to export buffaloes, but the DGFT people said the matter comes under the purview of the animal husbandry department, and nothing has been done in that regard. If the departmental procedure takes this much time, then how will export take place?"

Talking about trading time, he said, "Trade should be done for at least 8 hours a day. At present, it is restricted to less than six hours. He added that the movement of people has also affected the trade as there is a single gate for traders and visitors. In 2004-05, about 52,000 people, comprising Indians, Pakistanis and nationals of other countries, crossed the Wagah border. In 2005-06, it was around 30,000, excluding the passengers of the Delhi-Lahore bus.