Policymakers’ not paying attention to livestock sector : Mian Zahid Hussain

Lahore: Pakistan Businessmen and Intellectuals Forum (PBIF) on Friday said lack of incentives has an impact on the development of dairy sector.

Pakistan is the third largest milk producer in the world bringing out 50 billion litres of milk annually but only four to five percent milk is processed for local consumption and exports while the rest is distributed through informal channels, it said.

The unprocessed milk is popular in the country due to its low price compared to processed milk but it is prone to germs and adulteration, said PBIF President and former provincial minister Mian Zahid Hussain.

He said that 8.5 million families are linked to milk business in country out of which 92 percent are small farmers preferring buffalos over the rest of the animals.

Only one out of thousand have over 50 animals in this business which is playing active role is reducing poverty in rural areas, he added.

Mian Zahid Hussain said that the share of livestock is around 12 percent in GDP but it never caught attention of authorities who have always preferred crop sector over it.

He said that dairy sector shrank by 30 percent in the last eighteen years due to issues like regulation, taxation, cost of doing business, outdated methods and unabated import of milk powder which is weakening the local dairy sector.

He said that supply is increasing by four percent per annum while demand continue to increase by 10 to 15 percent which must be balanced though full government involvement.