May 26, 2006	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 27, 1427

KARACHI, May 25: The city government has virtually failed to come up with any plan to rescue consumers, who have been paying for the last two months Rs2 and Rs4 more to buy fresh milk and yogurt, respectively.

Market sources said that the city government was engaged in dilly-dallying tactics by ignoring the increase in milk prices by the dairy farmers. Instead of controlling the price, the price regulators had made only one effort by issuing a notification of Rs28 per litre in third week of April in order to show to the general public how much the government is concerned over the price hike.

Prior to the notification, the milk sellers had increased the price of milk to Rs30 from Rs28 per litre. Yogurt price had been enhanced to Rs44 from Rs40 per kg.

Executive district officer (Enterprise and Investment Promotion) Syed Abid Ali Shah, talking to Dawn on May 5, had said that the government was planning to introduce a ticket system this month and profiteers and retailers will be fined on the spot for over-charging. The ticket system would involve a fine ranging from Rs100 to Rs500.

However, so far no action has been taken by the city government against the retailers, wholesalers and dairy farmers. At present, retailers feel no fear in demanding higher price from the consumers on milk and yogurt in absence of any price checking campaign.

The government has yet to bring to task the dairy farmers which are the primary source of price increase.

Meanwhile, a city government official tried to defend the delay in launching a crusade against the profiteers. He said that the ticket format had been approved by the law department of the city government and it would go in the printing press soon.

He said the process of controlling the price through ticketing system had gone slow as the city government was planning to come up with an effective campaign against the profiteers. This is almost on the pattern of the ticket system used for violators of traffic rules.

“We may come up with the campaign against profiteers by the first week of next month,” he added.

The local government has also its drawback in controlling the prices. It has been asking the provincial government to give magisterial powers to the city government officials so that price control campaign could be launched in an effective way. Some 60 to 70 officials, including Town municipal Officers, may make a difference in stabilising prices in case they are vested with powers, he added.

One DDO for each town would be insufficient to handle the price control campaign, he added.

Meanwhile, convenor of Pakistan Milk Powder Importers Association (PMPIA), Abdul Rahim Janoo has come up with some proposals like cut in customs duty and income tax on milk imports to cover up shortage of fresh milk as well as to stabilise prices.

He said that actually the country was facing shortage of fresh milk and increase in prices by milk packers and fresh milk sellers were clear evidence of acute shortage.

Milk powder imports of about 20,000 tons per annum are not enough as compared to 40,000 tons imported few years back. The price increase in Europe and India discouraged the milk powder imports, which are very vital in keeping the prices stable, he said.

Milk powder is imported in skimmed milk form, butterfat milk powder form and vegetable fat filled form. Skimmed milk powder and fat filled powder are ideal health products with low cholesterol.

Milk powder is also a vital ingredient for leading ice cream makers, sweet meat merchants, curd/lassi makers, tea shops and bakeries.

Pakistan imports milk powder from the UK, Ireland, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, India and the Netherlands. Almost 95 per cent of total milk power imports consist of skimmed and fat filled milk powder.

Janoo urged the commerce minister to reduce the import duty on milk powder to 10 per cent from 25 per cent besides, cutting income tax on import stage to two per cent from six per cent.

He said that there would be no loss of revenue as the import quantity will increase and due to the price increase world wide the import duty will be calculated at the current prevailing rates. The milk prices will remain stable round the year as milk powder available will substitute the fresh milk demand.

Market sources said that like the previous year, there had been some deal between the stakeholders of fresh milk and some city government officials this year, too, thus giving free hand to the stakeholders in milk business to resort to over-charging. This has been a main reason in restricting the price regulators to take any stern action against the milk sellers and dairy farmers, they added.