Pakistan: Milk vendors in Karachi hold protest, demand hike in prices

Islamabad [Pakistan]: Amid the ongoing hike in food prices in Pakistan, milk prices have also soared, causing problems for the Karachi vendors, reported ARY News.

There have been tensions between milk sellers and dairy farm owners over the issue of pricing.

The milk vendors ‘in protest’ announced to suspend the milk procurement from Monday after the price hike decision. The decision was delayed on July 1 by the milk sellers and dairy farm owners.

The administration has set the price of milk at Rs 180 but retailers are charging their own rates. Milk is being sold for as much as Rs 220 per litre in different parts of Karachi, reported Aaj News.

After the sugar and vegetables crisis, now, Karachi is likely to witness a milk crisis as well.

Last week, the Karachi Milk Retailers Welfare Association said that they would close the sale points across the metropolis from Monday for an indefinite period to demand a price hike, reported ARY News.

Moreover, the retailers have already announced to stop the sale of loose milk across Karachi from today for an indefinite period.

The milk retailer association further held a protest at the Karachi Press Club on Monday and demanded a hike in the milk price.

Following this, the association gave a 72-hour ultimatum to the local administration to decide on the milk price.

They further expressed their concern and said that they could not sell milk at the current prices after buying the stock from dairy farmers at higher prices, according to ARY News.

The office bearer of the milk retailer association said that the dairy farmers were selling milk to the retailers at Rs 214 to Rs 218 per litre and the retailers should atleast get a margin of Rs 20 per litre.

Earlier in August, commodities with the highest weights for the lowest quintile include milk (17.5449 per cent), electricity (8.3627 per cent), wheat flour (6.1372 per cent), sugar (5.1148 per cent), firewood (5.0183 per cent), long cloth (4.2221 per cent), and vegetable ghee (3.2833 per cent).

Sakina, a homemaker from North Nazimabad said that she does not know how to cater to the food needs of her children, particularly meat.

“Chicken is PKR 600/kg at my local shop, beef is more than Rs1,100 and mutton — I have not even bothered checking its price,” she lamented, adding that just 250 grams of tomatoes cost 50 PKR, which means straight up PKR 200/kg.

“With growing kids, running the kitchen on a single and meagre salary has become close to impossible,” Geo News quoted the homemaker.

Notably, Pakistan is battling a huge economic crisis, with staggering inflation and depleting Forex reserves.