PESHAWAR: President Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain has said that additional taxes have pushed the vibrant dairy sector into crisis.
The taxes will increase cost of doing business by seven percent, push up price of processed milk by Rs 6 per liter and reduce its demand by 20 percent, hitting tax collection and hurting 600,000 people linked to milk business.
Talking to a delegation of dairy farmers, Mian Zahid Hussain said that local and foreign investors have invested around $700 million in the dairy sector during the last five years which will be stopped now.
He said that Pakistan has reduced duty on import of milk from SAARC countries to 15 percent while India has slapped 68 percent duty on import of milk powder.
Pakistan is the third largest milk producer in the world producing around 55 million tons of milk, production in increasing by 4 percent per annum while demand in increasing by 15 percent annually.
Pakistan exports skimmed and fresh milks while it also imports 40 thousand tons of milk, mainly from India, which is equal to 3,20,000 tons of fresh milk.
The global milk demand is set to increase by 36 percent during the nine years which can be an opportunity for Pakistan, he said, adding that the situation demands patronage by the government as despite 70.5 million animals average milk production is 4-5 liters per animal which is 30-40 liters in developed nations.
Mian Zahid Hussain demanded 100 percent duty on import of skimmed milk and dairy products to safeguard interests of 40 million dairy farmers in the informal sector and otherwise this business will not remain viable.
Pakistan has witnessed closure of 3.5 million dairy farms in the last nineteen years, a trend which must be reversed.
