The petrol prices may dip a good 6-8 percent come March 2010, but the consumers will have something of larger importance to deal with. Milk prices in the retail market are expected to surge by Rs6/ltr to Rs52kg/ltr in a few days time. Considering that Pakistan is amongst one of the worlds largest milk consumption countries - this will deal a huge blow to the consumers.
It may come as a surprise but Pakistans per capita milk consumption stands out from the region and nearly matches that of the developed countries. The per capita milk consumption of 158kg/year is way ahead of the regional and global averages of 70kg/year 82kg/year respectively.
Why this massive price increase, one may ask. This situation stems from a variety of problems which need immediate attention at the government level. Despite being the worlds third largest milk producer, Pakistan still imports around 1.5 billion liters of the vital protein supplement every year.
The fact that the value of milk alone exceeds the combined value of wheat, rice, maize and sugarcane is not only preventing Pakistanis from meeting a greater share of global demands - it also leads to heightened shortages in production of meat and poultry products and by-products at the domestic level.
Industry experts fear that if immediate measures are not taken, the supply-demand gap would reach 55 million tons of milk. Knowing the slow pace of economic development, challenged by fast population growth, chances of overcoming the obstacles are dim.
Luckily, a few have noticed the problem to some degree and have come up with relevant projects to address the issue. The European Unions project of livestock development is a step in this direction which aims at boosting the sectors productivity. Having said that, this alone is not enough and much more needs to be done sooner.
Pakistan has immense potential to export livestock, but the livestock trade so far has been in deficit, according to the FAO. Cattle exports to Afghanistan, Iran and other Gulf states have strong footings that helps Pakistan earn decent foreign exchange, given the higher comparative quality of Pakistani breeds.
Livestock is also a vital source of raw material for cottage industries such as leather, carpet, woolen clothes etc. There is still a large untapped market waiting for improved supplies at home.
Unfortunately, various hindrances have prevented the livestock sector to be at its optimal potential. Extensive research work, technological up-gradation, education, enhancing credit facility etc, all need to be done in order to realize the full potential.
It is not fair to expect everything to be done by the government. The industry needs to volunteer itself for the technical support and should also seek funding from international donors. A well integrated, well directed and timely planned long term framework is the need of the hour if Pakistan is to avert what could be a disastrous food shortage situation in the foreseeable future.
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