Pakistan is almost bust with the ventilation up of foreign cash reserves and increasing external debt. Earlier in February, China had come onward with a loan offer of 42.5 billion and now, in return, Pakistan will be exporting donkeys to its "all-weather ally".
Pakistan, which has the third largest donkey population in the world, will send abroad the animal to China, opening the opportunity to earn millions from the trade, according to a media report.
Donkeys are highly prized in China, particularly for their hide which is used to produce customary Chinese medicines. Gelatin made from donkey skin has been long well thought-out to have medicinal properties in China, traditionally being thought to nourish the blood and augment the immune system.
Pakistan has the world's third largest population of donkeys with more than 5 million animals, while China stands at number one.
A senior official at the stock department in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa prefecture said Chinese companies are paying attention in donkey farming in Pakistan and foreign companies are prepared to invest USD 3 billion.
In a proposal to boost the country's exports, the livestock subdivision has announced that it will develop donkey farms the first of its kind in the country.
According to reports, at least two donkey farms are being set up in Dera Ismail Khan and Mansehra with an unfamiliar partnership.
During the first three years, the government plans to export as many as 80,000 donkeys to China.
