Decline: Dairy sector struggles with UHT sales

Industry official blames unregulated loose milk as real threat

LAHORE: While the recent episode between Pakistan’s processed milk producers and the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) has ended on a positive note for the dairy sector, it has dented sales of Ultra High Treated (UHT) milk throughout the country.

According to Haleeb Foods Limited Chief Operating Officer Haroon MK Lodhi, the industry in general has recorded a 2% dip in sales since the crisis began in November.

“The industry is now on the recovery mode after it received clearances from the country’s top courts and the PFA against alleged claims,” he said while talking to a group of journalists.



“UHT processed milk is safe and nutritious owing to the technology used and the strict quality control exercised,” he said. “There is absolutely no economic sense and no logic at all for milk processors, who market milk in packaged cartons, to add anything to the milk bought directly from farmers.”

Apart from the recent controversy, the Haleeb Foods official said that inclusion of sales tax in the cost of packaged milk and imposition of 25% regulatory duty on the import of skimmed milk products announced in the current year’s budget was a big burden on the industry.

“Government should withdraw these steps to bring down the increasing cost of doing business for the dairy sector,” he said. “Haleeb Foods alone had to bear a burden of Rs2.4 billion due to the taxation measures taken by the government.”

He threw light on the measures being taken by Haleeb Foods to ensure the quality of milk they were providing to the market.

“We have some 170 milk collection plants across the country and we perform seven immediate tests on the milk collected from these points,” he said. “Later, 23 other tests are conducted at screening laboratories to determine the quality of milk.”

Currently, Haleeb Foods collects around 80,000 litres of milk per day, while the company’s sales were only 20,000 litres. Therefore, the company official stressed the need for screening of loose milk, which was being sold unregulated in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2017.

Like Business on Facebook, follow @TribuneBiz on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.