Imported cows attract $360mln in investment, create 10,000 jobs

LAHORE: Imported cows and dairy farming technologies attracted $360 million in investment and provided employment opportunities to around 10,000 people in Pakistan during the last one decade, raising the milk production to a million-litre/day, said a livestock expert.

Imran Saeed Khan, regional business development manager at the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) told The News that currently local dairy farms are earning Rs70 million a day on account of milk sale at the farm-gate price of Rs60/litre. 

“In contrast to indigenous cattle that produces much less milk, high yielding exotic dairy cattle of Holstein-Friesian and Jersey breeds and their crosses comparatively produce about two to three times more milk,” Khan said. “The imported cows are not as hardy as local breeds, but high milk yield per animal promises far better returns and suitability for commercial dairy farming.” 

Official figures showed that the country imported 5,205 exotic dairy cows in the July-March period of 2015/16. The exotic dairy cows added approximately 39,688 tons of milk per annum in the commercial milk chain/system. There is no duty on import of calf milk replacer and cattle feed premix.

As trend of importing high-yielding cows has been gaining momentum since 2006, he said. Consumption of milk from exotic dairy cattle and their crosses is catching pace.  More than 95 percent of all the imported cows were ferried from Australian. The exotic breeds can produce as high as 27 litres of milk a day with ability to give 7,695 litres milk per lactation. 

The Australian cattle are relatively easier to acclimatise with the local harsh weather conditions. As weather of both Australia and Pakistan is not very much different the cows are successfully producing a significant volume of milk for local dairy farms, raising profit margins.

Khan said the biggest challenge of keeping imported high- yielding cows as compared to local breeds has been their inability to bear hot and humid conditions. In comparison to cows imported from other countries, Australian cattle are, however, relatively best acclimatised with the typical harsh summer of the country, he added.

“It is the best time to invest in commercial dairy farms with a view to maximise gains. Rearing these cattle at small as well as large farms is very much feasible,” said Austrade’s manager, who’s associated with the trade for the last 15 years.

Total 100 farms of small size have already been set up during the last around 10 years, having 100 to 150 imported cows at each farm. In addition to this, there are 30 medium-size commercial dairy farms each having 400 to 600 imported cows.

As far as large scale farms are concerned total 20 commercial farms, each having 2,000 to 4,500 cows, have successfully been set up and become indispensable part of the milk supply chain.

Import of superior quality cows also helped in establishing private sector-driven new support industry.  The cattle feed industry has seen a phenomenal growth during the last several years with 30 new entrants. There are five suppliers of milking machine and other allied equipment coupled with two privately-run education and training centres.

During this tenure, Khan said another exciting addition to domestic dairy sector has been the modern forage management. Chronic cycle of fodder shortage has been a major obstacle in getting optimal milk production, especially in summer month, he said. The forage making process involves utilisation of surplus green fodder and preservation as silage for feeding cattle during the lean season. Presently, 25,000 acres of forage seed is produced to meet the growing demand of fodder.

The imported Australian heifers cost around $2,000, which is the best price in the last 10 years. The cows, being imported from the Netherlands, cost around $3,000, while price of importing American cow into Pakistan stands at approximately $3,500. Prices are variable because of the transportation cost.