China wants Pakistan's donkeys: What's driving the demand and how it is hurting the poor

Villagers ride a donkey cart along a street on a hot summer day in Larkana, Sindh province on May 27, 2025. (Photo by Ahmed Raza SOOMRO / AFP)

For a nation touted as China’s “iron brother,” Pakistan has often found itself bending over backwards to feed the appetite of its powerful ally – from infrastructure deals under CPEC to defending Beijing diplomatically.

But the latest chapter in this alliance is stranger than fiction: Pakistani donkeys are now being exported in droves to China, feeding a billion-dollar traditional medicine industry. What’s being sold as an economic win is, in reality, crushing Pakistan’s poor – the very people who rely on these animals for their survival.

China’s obsession for Pakistan's donkeys

Over the last five years, Pakistan’s donkey population has quietly but steadily grown – from 5.5 million in 2019–20 to over 6 million in 2023–24, according to the Pakistan Economic Survey. This growth defies the stagnant numbers seen in horses and mules, and is no coincidence: China’s demand is fuelling a new kind of livestock boom in Pakistan.

Behind it is ejiao – a gelatin extracted from donkey hides and used in traditional Chinese medicine for everything from blood health to anti-aging. China’s own donkey population has collapsed in recent decades, and after bans in key supplier countries like Niger and Burkina Faso, Pakistan has become one of the few remaining sources willing to sell.

Dedicated farms and slaughterhouses have sprung up in places like Okara and Gwadar. In fact, a $7 million processing facility recently opened in Gwadar, explicitly for donkey exports. The goal? Export 200,000 donkeys per year, many of them from special breeds like the "American mammoth".

A booming trade, but for whom?

If you look at the numbers, the donkey export industry looks like a quick fix for Pakistan’s balance sheet. But scratch the surface and it reveals something far grimmer.

Donkeys are not a luxury in Pakistan - they are a lifeline. For thousands of low-income families, especially in rural and urban informal sectors, donkeys are the only way to move bricks, water, garbage, food, and even people. According to equine charity Brooke, one donkey supports around six people and carries up to a ton of waste per day.

Now, with demand from China inflating prices, owning a donkey is becoming a privilege the poor can’t afford. In Karachi, a healthy donkey that once cost Rs 30,000 now sells for Rs 1.5–2 lakh. It’s simple math: the supply is going abroad, and the prices at home are skyrocketing.

Just ask Abdul Rasheed, a cart-puller in Karachi. His donkey “Tiger” died in an accident last week – his only means of income gone. He now spends his days roaming Lyari’s donkey market, where even the cheapest options are out of reach. “How can I afford that?” he said. “Even if I somehow buy one, what if it dies before I recover my investment?”

For Rasheed and thousands like him, this trade isn’t just economic policy – it’s a death sentence for their livelihoods.

China buys everything, even sick donkeys

In a revealing detail reported by PTI, Chinese buyers are so desperate for donkey hides that they’re paying Rs 40,000 each for sick or weak animals, just to skin them. This unchecked demand is distorting the entire market, turning even dying animals into export assets. For Pakistan’s poor, it means competing with Chinese buyers who are ready to pay more, and don’t care about the donkey’s utility - just its hide.

Donkey meat: Religious, ethical red lines

Then comes the even murkier part – donkey meat. In provinces like Hebei, dishes made from donkey meat are popular street fare. Burgers, sausages, and stews made from donkey flesh are served in Chinese cities like Baoding and Hejian. While that might be a cultural norm in China, in Pakistan, donkey meat is considered haram – forbidden in Islam.

This has triggered outrage. Saleem Reza of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce told PTI that there must be protocols to ensure the meat doesn’t enter Pakistani markets. “Even if donkeys are in demand by China, they must be sent there without being slaughtered in Pakistan,” he said. “There is a need to establish designated factories to ensure ethical, legal slaughtering – not backdoor butchery.”

But in a country where enforcement is often weak and corruption rampant, these concerns aren’t paranoia – they’re warnings.