KARACHI: In protest against the government’s crackdown, the milk sellers are observing strike by closing their shops and refused to sell milk at the official price of Rs70 per litre.
The milk retailers in the city raised the prices of milk and yoghurt – from Rs10 per litre and Rs20 per kilogramme to Rs94 and Rs140, respectively the other day against the official rates of Rs70 per litre and Rs100 per kilogramme.
The All Karachi Milk Retailers Association said farmers had increased the price of milk from Rs79 per litre to Rs86. It claimed that gas and electricity rates had also increased and there were other expenses that the milk retailers had to put up with, stating the prices of the dairy products could not be reduced.
However, late on Monday night the Karachi Dairy Farmers Association announced it was taking back its decision to increase the milk price by Rs10 per litre after the city administration launched a crackdown and made more than 90 arrests to thwart the move. The association said the authorities had assured it of redressing its grievances before taking a final decision.