ISLAMABAD: The Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) said that the increasing import of milk and whey powders is slowly destroying the local dairy sector while contributing to rural poverty and causing trouble with people’s health.
Due to the closure of hundreds of farms the investors have become repellent towards the local dairy sector, which has resulted to collapse the milk production.
“The government should take immediate steps to reverse the situation; otherwise, Pakistan will become a milk-deficient country,” said FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries Chairman Atif Ikram Sheikh.
Due to the import of milk powder which runs in millions the local dairy sector is going down since 2013. The country imports two to three million kilograms of milk powder annually while imports in 2015 jumped to 44 million kilogram’s.
Milk sellers have started adding cheap milk powder in fresh milk while many industries using fresh milk have switched to imported dry milk, which has added to the problems of the local dairy sector, Sheikh observed.
“Turkey had imposed 180% duty on import of milk; therefore, Pakistan should also hike duty to a minimum of 100%,” suggested the chairman.
Local milk market should be regulated, adulteration should be discouraged and the public should know the difference between fresh milk and synthetic products, which are very damaging for babies, he added.
