KARACHI, Jan 6: Milk-sellers continued to overcharge their customers on Saturday despite a commitment a day earlier with the city government that they would sell milk on the official prices till the release of a report by the committee constituted by the city government to evaluate their demands and determine new prices.

Representatives of the dairy farmers and retailers had agreed on Friday during a meeting with the city nazim to sell milk on officials price of Rs28 per liter for 10 days during which the committee constituted at the meeting would assess the reasons of the milk-sellers for seeking price increases.

However, the milk-sellers did not abide by their commitment and continued to sell milk at higher rates, Rs34 per litre and even in some area at Rs36 per litre. The sellers also sold yogurt at Rs48 per kg although its official price is Rs40 per kg.

Prior to the recent sudden increase the milk was being sold at Rs30 to Rs32 per kg instead of the official rates of Rs28 in the city.

Despite the city government’s much publicised and orchestrated campaign against the price hike, milk-sellers have been constantly flouting the official prices of milk for many months.

Despite their promise to sell milk at official rates on Friday, prices of dairy products have not come down and it seems that the milk-sellers are not mentally prepared to decrease the prices and they are flexing their mussels to contend what the city nazim described during the Friday meeting with the city government.

When contacted a city government official said the revenue department had also started a campaign against profiteers and so far 40 milk-sellers had been sent to jail, while 150 people were fined a total of Rs250,000 during the last two days.

He said 36 deputy district officers having magisterial powers visiting the markets and dairy farms which was the root-cause of the recent price hike.

“As the city government and milk-sellers have reached an agreement for 10 days for selling milk at the official rates, therefore, the revenue department has not been taking stern action but efforts are being made to maintain the prices with light punishment," he said, adding: "If the milk-sellers will not follow official prices to be fixed by the committee in the next 10 days, a crackdown will be conducted against them”.

A citizen, Qazi Ishaq, remarked that the issue would not be solved unless the city government eliminated the role of the middlemen and got struck at a yearly deal between the dairy farmers and retailers.

A total of eight million litre of milk is consumed in Karachi everyday. Out of it, 60 per cent is provided by the local farmers while 40 per cent comes from the interior of the province.

A major quantity of the milk is supplied to the retailers through the middlemen who are guarantor between retailers and dairy farmers as the former is not in a position to pay cash in time.

Taking this advantage, the middlemen buy milk from dairy farmers and sell out with their profit to retailers on a credit basis, which increases the burden on consumers.

It is suggested that open auction of milk be held daily so that the middlemen and dairy farmers, who have monopoly on the business, may not increase the prices illegally.—Online