Pakistani livestock and meat will be available in the UAE market next week, following the UAE's decision to lift a ban imposed two years ago. The decision was widely welcomed by the Pakistani community, particularly restaurant owners, who said their businesses had been feeling the effects of the ban.

"This is a great relief for us and our customers, who always demand meat from Pakistan," said Mohammed Younus of Pak Ghazi restaurant in Sharjah. Animal traders have already started placing their orders to resume the imports.

An average five to six tonnes of meat were imported from Pakistan daily, before the ban was imposed. Thousands of animals, including goats, sheep and cows, were also imported monthly.

Most consignments - comprising both chilled meat and livestock - reached Dubai from Karachi and Lahore by air, for subsequent distribution to other parts of the UAE, including Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Sharjah.

Younus urged the Pakistani authorities to maintain strict quality and hygiene checks on exporters to ensure supply continuity in the UAE market.

"Pakistani meat is in no way of lower quality than meat imported from other countries. It is slaughtered in the pure Islamic way, with strict hygienic conditions being maintained. The only problem is some exporters are careless, and should be monitored," explained a meat shop owner in Sharjah.

Saeed Mohammed Al Raqabani, Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, issued in Dubai on Wednesday a ministerial decree lifting the ban on the import of livestock and animal products from Pakistan, imposed for fear of infection.

The step was taken after a UAE delegation toured facilities and slaughterhouses in Pakistan from March 11 to 16. The team reported dangerous animal diseases had been eradicated through the efforts of the European Union, the UN International Epidemic Disease Organisation, and the Pakistan Government.

Pakistan consular officials in Dubai explained the ban, first imposed only on meat imports, in July, 2000, had apparently been due to reports of substandard product exports by some Pakistani operators.

Efforts through diplomatic channels to persuade the UAE Government to send a delegation to Pakistan and inspect the facilities and slaughterhouses resulted in a first official team going there in November, 2000.

The team, comprising three veterinary doctors, called on senior officials at Pakistan's Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, and also visited various facilities in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi, ultimately recommending that the UAE grant permission for the resumption of meat imports.

But the same month saw the UAE banning livestock imports following reports of foot and mouth disease. At this point, the issue of substandard meat and that of Foot and Mouth Disease got interlinked.

On being approached by the consulate, the UAE Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries agreed last June to send another delegation to review quarantine facilities, processes and procedures adopted in Pakistan.

The matter was vigorously pursued, and a three-member delegation comprising two veterinary doctors and a senior UAE municipal official visited Pakistan from March 11 to 16, in accordance with the programme worked out by the Pakistan Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, and the Export Promotion Bureau.

They visited various facilities including the Animal Science Institute and National Veterinary Laboratories, Islamabad; Veteri-nary Research Institute, Lahore; Animal Quarantine Department, Lahore; Animal Quarantine House, Karachi; and six slaughter houses in Lahore and Karachi, before recommending the ban be lifted.