Pakistan local government works hard to grow donkey exports to China

Sanxitang, the Zhejiang-based strategic partner of the Donge E-jiao Co of East China's Shandong Province presents ejiao products on December 13, 2016 in its traditional Chinese medicine store. [Photo: VCG]

Pakistan is looking to export live donkeys to China, as the gap between the country's huge demand and its decreasing supply has been widening   for years.

The project initiated by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government and titled the "KP-China Sustainable Donkey Development Programme," is one of the many investment proposals the KP Planning and Development Department has put forward, according to the Pakistan-based The Express Tribune.

In the context of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the program, with an initial investment of 1 billion Pakistan Rupees ($9.81 million), aims to increase the donkey population of KP and create a channel which can   ensure the uninterrupted supply of donkeys to China, according to a statement released one the KP-CPEC website.

The website notes that while neglected in Pakistan, the animal is highly prized in China, especially for its hide which is used to manufacture traditional Chinese medicines.

"The proposed project will help improve the socio-economic status of donkey-rearing communities by improving the health and production of local donkeys," the statement said.

Enlarging gap

The project was unveiled at a time in which China is desperately in need of more donkeys.

Gelatin made from donkey skin has been long considered to have medicinal properties in China, traditionally being thought to nourish the blood, enhance the immune system and even prolong one's life.

The most famous variety donkey gelatin, named "ejiao," is produced in Dong'e County in East China's Shandong Province. It is prized in China, with the price surging from 130 yuan($18.9) per kilogram in 2001 to 5,400 yuan this year according to the National Business Daily.

About 4 million donkeys are slaughtered each year to produce ejiao, the Xinhua News Agency reported on April 11.

As consumption and prices rise, the market has seen supplies shrinking over the last 20 years.

According China's National Bureau of Statistics, donkey stocks have halved over the past two decades, dropping from 9.44 million in 1996 to 5.4 million in 2015.

Under the circumstances, it is not possible to meet demand without imports. It will take at least 6-10 years to make the China's donkey market self-sufficient, said Dong Shuguang, general manager of Guojiaotang, a Shandong-based donkey gelatin manufacturer.

What's more, some African states which had just became important suppliers to China last year have now quit the market due to the concerns over ecologic issues. For example, Niger and Burkina Faso exported tens of   thousands of donkeys and hides to China in 2016 before they banned exports later that year, warning that the rapidly growing trade was threatening the donkey population.

As China's donkey shortage is occurring at a time when Pakistan has one of the largest donkey stocks, around 9 million, the KP government will "develop market linkages in order to improve the prices of donkeys and enhance the income of breeders and traders," according to the government program's website.

Concerns over donkeys

However, like the African countries, Pakistan has expressed concern over potential risks to the animal's sustainability caused by exports.

In 2015, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) led by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, placed a temporary ban on the export of donkey hides, fearing an irreversible decline in stock, Dawn reported.

At the time, the country's food ministry warned the committee that an expansion in the trade could lead to mass poisonings of donkeys. Killing the animals in this way preserves their valuable hides.

Sun Yujiang, Secretary-General of National Strategic Alliance of Technology Innovation in the Donkey Industry, told the Global Times on April 9 that it is inappropriate to blame China for the shrinking donkey populations in exporting countries.

"Breeding donkeys causes few environmental problems," said Sun, claiming that the majority of China's   consumption comes from domestic stocks while imports just play a supplementary role.