Donkey prices soar in Pakistan due to China’s demand for ejiao

A man guides a donkey cart loaded with goods along Hussain Agahi Road in Multan, Pakistan, May 28, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Abdul Rasheed is in a fix these days. Tiger, his donkey and the only source of income, died in an accident last week.

Staring at the prospect of dire poverty, Mr. Rasheed is undecided about buying a new one as donkey prices have soared in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan. “A donkey now costs as high as ₹2,00,000 in the market, way too high than ₹30,000 eight years ago,” Mr. Rasheed said.

Hundreds of poor wage earners such as Mr. Rasheed, who are dependent on donkeys as their only source of livelihood, now face a tough competition from high-value buyers from China.

The reason for this sudden surge in donkey prices has been a growing demand from China to source these animals from Pakistan. Reason: China’s multi-billion-dollar ejiao industry.

Ejiao is a gelatin used in traditional Chinese medicine, made by stewing and concentrating donkey skin. It is widely used in clinics for its biological advantages of being anti-fatigue, immunity-improving properties, for tumour suppression, and for its anti-anaemia effect.

For animal rights advocates, China’s interest in sourcing donkeys, particularly for their hide, is not new.

Mr. Rasheed said despite having good contacts in Karachi’s Lyari, the largest donkey market in the country, the cheapest healthy donkey available is for ₹1,55,000. “Where can I get that sort of money? And even if I manage something, I am not sure whether the animal will not die out on me before I have recovered the money,” Mr. Rasheed, whose annual income is less than ₹4,00,000, said.

Donkeys are an integral part of many industries. Poor wage workers use their donkeys or donkey carts daily to load structural iron and other heavy stuff and transport them across several miles every day in all kinds of terrain. A journey of an hour or more earns Samad, another wage worker, a daily income between ₹1,500 and ₹2,000, almost half of which is spent on the donkey’s upkeep.