June 22, 2006	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 25, 1427

LAHORE, June 21: There is vast scope for joint ventures between Germany and Pakistan in the fields of dairy and livestock. This was stated by Peter Baasch, general manager Exports, GEA Group, Germany, during a meeting with Shahab Khawaja, chief executive officer of Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (Smeda) and the dairy sector stakeholders. Geoff Walker, chief executive officer of Pakistan Dairy Development Company was also present on the occasion.

The GEA Group is a German based company, which is one of the world's market and technology leaders in dairy processing engineering and equipment, which has established its office in Pakistan.

The Smeda chief Shahab Khawaja welcomed the GEA delegation and apprised them of the strategy evolved by Smeda for the development of dairy industry in Pakistan.

He said that livestock production was an integral part of Pakistan's agricultural system and played a vital role in national economy. At present, the sector is contributing about 50 per cent to agricultural economy and about 11 per cent to the GDP. He disclosed that 30 to 35 million people of the rural areas were engaged in livestock raising. The income from livestock contributes significantly to the farmers’ livelihood, he said. —APP