PESHAWAR: The dairy farmers and dealers have expressed concerns over sale of adulterated milk and other dairy products and demanded of the government to resolve problems for the local farmers and milk dears to ensure sufficient supply of quality products to the consumers.

Talking to journalists here on Monday Livestock Farmers Association provincial president Mohammad Asif Awan said that the adulterers had made lives of the citizens miserable by selling contaminated milk at low price to attract consumers.

He said that government was least bothered to take the livestock farmers on board while taking decisions regarding fixation of prices and that’s why the dealers had to sell the products at different rates to run their business.

He said that the farmers had requested the administration to fix the rate of milk at Rs110 per kilogram and keep thorough check on its quality but to no avail.

Mr Awan said that the dairy farming in Peshawar was at the verge of collapse as the farmers were compelled to sell milk at lower rate but they could not afford to sell it at a price less than Rs110 per kilogram. He said that many farmers and dealers switched over to other businesses as they could not meet the expenditures.

Mr Awan said that other reason for decline of dairy farming was sale of contaminated milk and dairy products supplied from Punjab. He said that 80 per cent of the meat and milk market in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been captured by the dealers of Punjab. He said that consumers were also least interested to check the quality but preferred to buy the products at a low price.

He said that the rates of everything including fodder, petroleum products, medicines, labour charges and grain were increased but administration was pressing the livestock dealers to keep the price of milk at the lowest level.

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2018