February 04, 2008	Monday	Muharram 25, 1429

KARACHI, Feb 3: A campaign launched by the Karachi city government to regulate milk prices has failed to produce the desired results as milk is still being sold at exorbitant rates across the city.

The exercise will only achieve its goal if the authorities compel dairy farmers and wholesalers to sell milk at government-approved rates.

At present milk is being sold at Rs36 to Rs38 per litre by retailers against the official price of Rs32. The city government’s revenue department has launched an anti-profiteering campaign but its officials are taking action only against retailers.

However, milk retailers argue that they cannot sell milk below its wholesale rate. The city government had fixed Rs30 per litre price for wholesalers but it failed to implement it.

The man in charge of the anti-profiteering campaign, Matanat Ali Khan, told Dawn that on Sunday city government magistrates imposed fines on 40 retailers and sent five others to prison for selling milk at high prices.

All Karachi Milk Retailers Association President Hafiz Nisar Gaddi told Dawn that instead of taking action against milk producers, the city government was taking, what he called, cosmetic measures. “We are getting per litre milk at Rs34.31 from wholesalers and how is it possible to sell milk at government price of Rs32 per litre?” he argued.

He said the EDO for Enterprise and Investment Promotion had called a meeting of stakeholders a few days back and promised to resolve the milk price issue within three days. “They (officials) are not serious in resolving this issue. They don’t have the courage to implement the milk price at the producers’ end,” he added.

The issue of milk price has been pending with the city government for long. The retailers have no option but to increase prices when dairy farmers and wholesalers do so. All the three stakeholders never follow the price fixed by the city government and there is always a difference of two rupees between the prices.

Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar, the patron of the retailers’ body, told Dawn that the city government never checked the price fixed by dairy farmers. “We are ready to sell milk at the government-fixed price if they implement and maintain official price at milk producers’ end.”

He said the retailers had borne the cost of per litre milk with its packing at over Rs36 and if the situation persisted, they would have no option but to wind up their business permanently.

However, sources in the city government agree that the issue of milk price can only be resolved if the government regulates prices at the wholesalers and dairy farms level.

They said the officials were unable to take action against wholesalers and dairy farmers because the payment procedure was on an annual basis, making it difficult for them to find any evidence about the sale of milk at high rates by wholesalers or dairy farmers.

Matanat said the city government was also taking action against wholesalers and dairy farmers. “Our teams will raid the wholesale markets in Lea Market and Bin Qasim Town from Monday and take stern action against those selling milk above the government fixed rate,” he added.

Mr Sarwar said the retailers’ association had filed a petition in the Sindh High Court for fixing a just milk price and that the city government be ordered to fix a permanent price of milk under the Sindh Essential Commodities Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Act, 2006. However, he said, the city government did not comply with the court’s order and no permanent price had been fixed so far.