Local dairy farmers are selling dairy herds to slaughterhouses as the influx of Indian produce makes the dairy business «unattractive», reports the Business Recorder.
The last five years has seen more than 21.48 million kilograms of Indian milk powder imported at a value of $72.3 million.
Pakistan used to be among the largest milk producing countries with over 35 billion litres annual output, a farming representative told the newspaper.
Attractive import duties and lax import regulations for skimmed milk powder and whey powder open the door for import from India, as a member of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.
Dumping is possible in the situation when skimmed milk exporters from India benefit from 20 per cent import duty in Pakistan whereas the same duty in India reaches 68 per cent.
The Government support to dairy sector in India is focused on keeping production costs economically fair to run the business. Grants, special programs to small farms, subsidies for fertilizer and electricity ensure sustainability for dairy industry nation-wide and every family involved in milk production.
To protect themselves, Pakistani dairy farmers demand more government regulations on milk powder imports. They have used Turkey as an example where 180 per cent import duty on import of milk powder is imposed to save profit of local manufactures.
Source: The Cattle Site