Government concerned over panic sale of dairy cattle

LAHORE: The Punjab government has expressed concern over the panic sale of milk-yielding animals for slaughtering purpose, presuming the act would create milk production instability in the country.
The Punjab Livestock & Dairy Development Department wrote a letter to Pakistan Dairy Association (PDA), a forum of local as well as multinational milk processing companies, and expressed its concern over growing trend of dairy cows slaughter.
Naseem Sadiq, Secretary Livestock & Dairy Development Department, in his letter said, there is a panic sale of milk animals for the purpose of slaughtering and the main factor reported behind the developed crisis is zero or nominal purchase of the fresh milk.
The farmers are already perturbed on the issue that some of the milk packing units have resorted to synthesize the milk themselves, Secretary Livestock said while referring to the letter.
PDA in an earlier letter to federal Secretary Ministry of National Food Security and Research had negated the claims that processing industry is engaged in self-collection of fresh milk for consumption of the public.
However, it said the packed milk is not the outcome of fresh milk and that the local milk is avoided due to its poor quality.
The secretary said the two statements by Pakistan Dairy Association contradict each other.
Milk-yielding cows are being slaughtered more since dairy farming is no more a lucrative business for the farmers, he said, fearing that unchecked slaughtering of cows could create problems in days to come as it would ultimately hurt milk production in the country.
“This trend needs to stop if we want to develop our local dairy farming industry,” he observed.
Punjab Livestock & Dairy Development Department has asked members of PDA to submit district-wise data of the milkmen and collection points of fresh milk being procured by the processing and market industry and small and large dairy farmers from whom the milk is being procured along with the rates.
Pakistan Dairy Association has also been directed to submit data relating to quantity of fresh milk procured, processed and packed by each unit so that actual quantity of milk being procured from farmers could be ascertained.