Dairy farmers urge immediate notification of revised milk prices

Add ARY News on GoogleFollow on Google DiscoverFile PhotoAAResizeKARACHI: Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association has demanded immediate issuance of a new notification for milk prices, saying further delay has become unbearable for dairy farmers, ARY News reported.

Association leader Shakir Umar demanded that the ex-farm price of milk for farmers be fixed at a minimum of Rs277 per litre, while the retail price for consumers be increased by Rs70 to Rs310 per litre.

Shakir Umar said the Sindh Livestock Department had estimated the production cost of milk at around Rs262 per litre. He said after adding Rs15 deducted under the calf head, the actual production cost comes to Rs277 per litre.

He questioned how farmers could sell milk at Rs215 per litre when the government’s own department had acknowledged the production cost at Rs262 per litre.

He said the current official ex-farm rate for farmers was only Rs215 per litre, while the official consumer price was around Rs240 per litre.

Shakir Umar said expenses on feed, fodder, wanda, grains, electricity, labour, medicines and transportation were continuously increasing. He demanded that the milk price be fixed on the basis of actual production costs and documented evidence.

He urged Karachi Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi to immediately call a meeting of all stakeholders and issue a new notification.

According to Shakir Umar, dairy farmers were being forced to sell animals and close farms due to continuous losses. He said continued losses could lead to a decline in milk production and withdrawal of investment from the dairy sector.

He said dairy farmers should not be forced to sell milk below the production cost. He announced that the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association would announce its future course of action at a press conference this week, where official production cost figures and documentary evidence of farmers’ losses would be presented.

He said the association would also present the basis for its demand of Rs277 per litre ex-farm and Rs310 per litre retail milk price.

Shakir Umar warned that if authorities failed to take a serious decision, farmers would consider peaceful protests, sit-ins and symbolic protests.

He said peaceful protest was their constitutional and democratic right, adding that negotiations and mutual consultation remained the priority. He maintained that milk production and supply could only be maintained if dairy farmers remained protected.

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