The ban on ‘non-essential and luxury’ items announced by the Government of Pakistan on Thursday in the Import Policy Order, 2022, to combat the escalating economic crisis includes dog and cat food, with total monthly imports of around $6.4 million dollars, shocking pet owners and animal caregivers across Pakistan.
‘Dog and Cat Food’ is one of numerous ‘commodities’ outlawed by the Ministry of Commerce’s SRO 598(I)/2022, which also includes groceries, household appliances, decorative objects, and clothes.
The overall monthly import value of pet food, including dog, cat, and all other animal food items, was just $6.41 million in Fiscal Year 2021. (FY21).
This is barely 0.031 percent of the $2.48 billion monthly import value of all forbidden “non-essential and luxury” products (FY21). Pet food contributes for barely 0.00096 percent of Pakistan’s total monthly imports of $6.67 billion (April FY22).
Millions of bewildered cat and dog owners are frantically stocking up on high-quality imported pet food, scared of the implications if they are forced to switch to inferior locally made brands if they are available. In cats and dogs of all ages, these meals have been associated to agonizing early deaths.
Similarly, veterinary standards demand that most zoo animals in Pakistan, such as tigers, lions, wolves, and bears, be fed particular imported cat and dog meals.
Many people expressed their displeasure on social media, with posts ranging from how can pet food be an unnecessary luxury when it is actually a necessity, to the insensitivity of the decision, to seeking alternative suggestions (especially for pets with medical conditions who rely solely on imported food for medical reasons), to highlighting that even veterinarians do not recommend local pet food, to hoping that the government will reverse the ban.
To read our blog on “Import ban on luxury items to benefit the country: PM Shehbaz,” click here.
