ISLAMABAD
Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Tuesday urged the government to raise import duty on milk powders to protect the local dairy sector.
“Increasing import of milk and whey powders are slowly destroying the local dairy sector while contributing to rural poverty”, a statement said.
The local dairy sector has become unattractive for investor which has resulted in falling milk production due to closure of hundreds of farms said Chairman FPCCI Regional Committee on Industries Atif Ikram Sheikh.
He said local dairy sector is going down since 2013 due to the import of milk powder which runs in tens of millions.
He said the country’s imports jumped to 44 million kgs in 2015.
Atif Ikram Sheikh said Turkey has imposed 180 per cent duty on import of milk, therefore, Pakistan should also hike duty to a minimum of 100 per cent.
Local milk market should be regulated, adulteration should be discouraged and masses should know the difference between fresh milk and synthetic products which are very damaging for babies, he added.
