KARACHI, Feb 1: The conflict between the dairy farmers and fresh milk retailers has intensified over wholesale rates. Retailers say that there was a shortage of about 30 per cent in milk supplies to the city on Thursday because many retailers did not purchase milk from dairy farmers.
“There was shortage in Society, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Landhi, Korangi, F.B.Area, Agra Taj, New Karachi etc,” President All Karachi Milk Retailers Welfare Association (AKMRWA), Mohammad Nisar said.
He said around five million litres of fresh milk is consumed daily in the city but on Thursday there was a decline in sales by around 30 per cent due to lesser than usual purchase of milk by retailers. However, he did not mention the number of retailers in the city and how many have actually resorted to purchasing lower quantities of milk. He said retailers usually sell milk for almost 18 hours a day but in many of the localities mentioned above, the retailers kept their shops open for hardly five hours due to meagre supplies from farmers.
However, he ruled out the possibility of the retailers going on a strike. “We have no plans of suspending milk supply to consumers,” he added.
“How long can retailers sell milk at Rs30 per litre when they procure it at Rs32 per litre from wholesalers/dairy farmers,” he said adding this was why many retailers had started lifting smaller quantities from the dairy farmers.
He said dairy farmers are bent upon charging higher rates and in case they suspend supplies to the retailers on rate dispute then they will be responsible for any uncertain situation.
“We will continue to supply milk to the consumers till the end despite suffering huge losses,” Nisar said. He accused the city government of only punishing retailers and putting them behind bars instead of checking the dairy farmers who he said had raised prices.
The government should intervene at the dairy farming stage by forcing them to reduce the rates and consumers will automatically witness decline at the retail stage, he said adding that dairy farmers are planning to increase wholesale rates to Rs38 per litre.
He said that the city government virtually ignored the increase in milk prices by dairy farmers by Rs4 per litre on January 1 which caused the wholesale rate to rise to Rs32 per litre. On January 5, the city nazim set up a committee to fix milk rates. The committee had to present its report on January 15 but the issue still lingers even after 17 days.
General Secretary Dairy Farmers Association of Karachi, Dr Rafiquddin Babar said dairy farmers have no plans to suspend milk supply in the city.
“We will thwart any plans if somebody (retailers) tries to suspend supply. We will sell milk directly in the markets and bazaars,” he said refuting the claims of retailers that milk supply was lesser than normal on Thursday. “I have no reports from any where or any shortage of milk in the city,” he added.
“Our dispute with the city government on pricing issue still exists but we cannot think of creating hurdles in daily milk supply,” Dr Babar said urging the city government to reconsider the ground realities as pointed out by the farmers regarding the demand of farmers.
It is still to be seen what role the city government can play in safeguarding consumers’ interests on the milk issue. Keeping in view the previous record of successive city governments, consumers have had to pay higher prices in the end.
Incharge Price Checking Campaign and Additional EDO Revenue Matanat Ali Khan when contacted said that so far he had received no reports of any short supply of milk in the city. He dispelled the impression of retailers that no wholesalers and dairy farmers had been caught for over charging.
In January, there were 718 cases reported of over charging by retailers, of which 42 were wholesalers. Twenty four wholesalers and 103 retailers had been sent to jail, while Rs.35 million had been recovered as fine for over charging from retailers and wholesalers, he said.
He asked retailers to lodge written complaints to the EDO Revenue or DDOs against wholesalers and dairy farmers who were supplying milk at higher rates so that action could be taken against them.
