Costlier milk?

After the gas, wheat and sugar crises, a milk crisis is looming on the horizon. Office-bearers of the Pakistan Cattle Feed Association and the Dairy and Cattle Farmers Association have asked for an increase in the price of milk. They told reporters at the Lahore Press Club the other day that the cost of all their inputs had risen so the retail price of milk should now be set at Rs150 a litre. They also claimed that agricultural commodities were being exported without meeting the domestic needs. They said the basic ingredient of cattle feed was now available for Rs1,600 per 40kgs and the prices of other inputs and the general price level too had gone up so they could not afford to sell milk at the present rate.

The situation is that the prices of all basic items like those of wheat flour, sugar, lentils together with the price of gas and other fuels have increased manifold over the past one year. Now the price of milk, which too is a kitchen item, is also likely to rise. One fails to comprehend the rising prices of basic food items in an agricultural country. Pakistan is the fourth largest milk-producing country in the world. At present, its price in different cities of the country is above Rs100 a litre. It is already beyond the reach of many and is likely to be unaffordable for many more. Ironically, in the same country there are rich people for whom fresh milk is imported from New Zealand.

The kitchen budget has registered a manifold increase in the past one year. Now Karachi ranks 441^st in terms of cost of living out of 445 cities in the world. Recently in the city, two men committed suicide because of their economic circumstances. Rising prices, inflation and lack of jobs and loss of jobs have made life for the common man miserable. Their patience is thinning out. If mangoes can explode, so can their anger.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2020.

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