“The export of these items has reached a level where they are not even available to the local dairy farmers despite soaring prices,” pointed out Shaukat Mukhtar, joint secretary Karachi Dairy Farmers Association Shaukat Mukhtar, urging the federal commerce minister to consider a ban on the export of livestock feed items.
He said that the price of choker had increased from Rs440 to Rs640 per 34-kilo bag over a period of one month. “Similarly, the price of bhoosa has surged by Rs120 per 40-kilo bag to Rs340 over the same period,” said Mukhtar while talking to The Express Tribune.
He added that the price of green fodder has gone up from Rs120 per kg to Rs200 while the by-products of pulses have also become more expensive.
Dairy farmers explained that wheat straw, wheat bran, pulses and cotton seed are the essential items used for animal feed. They contend that prices of these items have soared, partly due to the devastation caused by recent floods in the country, but also due to the unchecked export of the by-products of wheat.
“Each animal consumes about 8kg of concentrate made of these items,” said one farmer. “Each animal produces about 8 litres of milk per day,” he added.
The joint secretary of the association estimated that the cost of producing each litre has increased by about Rs8 over the past four weeks. “Hence, we have decided to increase milk prices by Rs4 per litre to Rs60 per litre from November 1.”
“The increase in price will not help us much because some consumers will also be driven away,” admitted Mukhtar. “The real solution would be for the government to step in and support the sector in its time of crisis,” he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2010.
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