Punjab is set to export up to one million animals as Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz accelerates reforms in the province’s livestock sector, officials said.

Under the new plan, agreements have been signed with seven institutions to expand meat exports, while collaboration between a Chinese firm and provincial authorities will establish a boiler unit to process meat for large-scale export.

The initiative includes a target to fatten 300,000 animals and export at least 100,000 in the first phase. Authorities also plan to import meat from around 300,000 animals through private companies, alongside the fattening of 300,000 cattle and buffaloes and 300,000 sheep and goats.

Officials said the livestock sector, long neglected, is now being treated as a key driver of economic self-reliance. Livestock farms are expected to create income opportunities, particularly in rural areas.

As part of broader reforms, the government has decided to establish modern veterinary hospitals in every tehsil, supported by mobile veterinary dispensaries to provide services in remote villages.

Separately, the chief minister, in a message marking World Malaria Day, said malaria remains a dangerous but treatable disease, stressing the need for awareness and prevention.