Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is looking to export live donkeys to China.

According to sources privy to the development, concerned provincial authorities have initiated steps to increase the donkey population in K-P and are planning to present the proposal to investors in China later this month.

The programme, titled the ‘Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa-China Sustainable Donkey Development Programme’, is one of the many investment portfolios the K-P Planning and Development Department has chalked out to attract Chinese investment in the province’s agriculture sector under the umbrella of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.

The proposals will be presented at a road show the K-P government will hold in China on April 17 and 18, the sources said.

An official document pertaining to the donkey export plan notes that while much neglected in Pakistan, the animal is highly valued in China, especially for its hide which is used to manufacture medicines, among other things.

“The proposed project will help improve the socio-economic status of donkey-rearing communities by improving the health and production of local donkeys,” the document stated.