Earlier this month, China and Pakistan have agreed on the protocol on quarantine and health requirements for buffalo embryos to be exported from Pakistan to China. Both countries will join hands to enhance cooperation and upgrade the technology of the buffalo industry in Pakistan.
According to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, China and Pakistan have reached consensus on the text of the Protocol on Quarantine and Health Requirements for Buffalo Embryos to be exported from Pakistan to China. The donor cows and sperm bulls used to create buffalo embryos are quarantined and raised at the farm under regional management of foot-and-mouth disease. After signing the protocol, buffalo embryos produced in the embryo processing sites registered by both parties that meet the requirements of the protocol can be exported to China.
The signing of the Protocol is conducive to the introduction of Chinese buffalo embryo in vitro production and embryo transfer technology into Pakistan and the improvement of the embryo technology level of Pakistan’s domestic buffalo industry. In addition, according to the requirements of Pakistan’s Ministry of National Food Security and Research, half of the buffalo embryos developed by Chinese enterprises in Pakistan will be used in Pakistan and half can be exported to China, which will also help improve the superior varieties of buffalo in Pakistan.
The entry of Pakistani buffalo embryos into China is of great significance to China’s buffalo milk industry. The donor cows and sperm bulls used for the production of buffalo embryos are the selected high-quality buffalo provenances with strong growth, high disease resistance and high milk yield. Buffalo embryos will be used to improve the provenance of Chinese buffalo and provide continuous support for the development of the Chinese buffalo milk industry.
According to Dr. Gu Wenliang, Agricultural Commissioner, Chinese Embassy in Pakistan, Chinese enterprises have set up buffalo embryo processing laboratories in Lahore and are planning to build foot-and-mouth disease free farm in surrounding areas. Buffalo embryos have been successfully trial-produced in Pakistan. Guangxi University, Buffalo Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and other institutions have also carried out relevant cooperation with Pakistan University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) and University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF).
