KARACHI: The issue of milk prices in Karachi further deteriorating as Karachi Commissioner Ejaz Ahmed Khan is ignoring the cattle farmers for the last three weeks and not giving time to resolve this issue.
After a verdict of the Supreme Court of Pakistan last month, the health department has imposed a ban on the selling of hormonal injections after which the total milk production has decreased by 50 percent in Landhi area and Surjani Town, which is considered the biggest cattle farms of Karachi.
“Despite all efforts, Commissioner Karachi is not giving time for the last three week to resolve the price issue,” Dairy Farmers Association of Surjani Town Secretary Malik Hayat.
He said, “The average inflation rate every in the country is about 5 percent in the country, but the milk prices are stagnant for last three years.”
He claimed that the authorities are even not providing drinking water for the buffalos and there is no infrastructure for the cattle farms in Surjani and Landhi areas.
We are forced to purchase water for the animals, while the price the price of grass and cattle food is also going high in Karachi with every passing day, he lamented. Karachi is not an agricultural city, so we have to purchase grass for our animal from adjoining areas of Karachi, he reiterated.
Malik Hayat warned that if the deadlock between the local authorities and the dairy farmers over the milk price issue does not come to an end and our grievances here not heard, we may stop selling milk in the market.
The dairy farmers’ attempt to increase the price of milk has remained unsuccessful due to the efforts of the local authorities. Commissioner Karachi had earlier warned that strict action would be taken against those milk farmers flouting regulations.
However, the sources in Commissioner Office said that the representatives of the commissioner and the dairy farmers have held more than five sessions to negotiate, which have remained inconclusive and a deadlock continued to exist over the issue.
It has been known that the dairy farmers are seeking an exorbitant increase of Rs10-15 per litre in milk prices, which has been rejected by the authorities. In the wholesale market, the price of Milk is Rs75 per litre.
Many citizens have complained that pure milk is not being sold at any dairy outlet, while even adulterated milk is being sold for about Rs90 per litre.
However, dairy farmers instead of increasing the capacity of cattle have resorted to increasing the price of milk, and are attempting to pressurize the local authorities to accept their demands.
