Preface

 It is an established nutritional fact that animal proteins are superior to vegetable proteins for the supply of essential amino acids. Milk is considered as a complete diet for an infant and contains essential nutrients for the development of young mammals. The substances in milk provide energy and antibodies that help protect against infection. Dairy animals of the present era are the outcome of thousands of years of breeding of undomesticated animals living in different parts of the world at different altitudes and latitudes, exposed to severe and extreme weather conditions. The present techniques used to produce milk from cows, goats, sheep, camels, and buffaloes started around 6000 years ago. The same species of animals are being maintained as dairy animals today. Most farmers are paid on the quality and composition of their milk. Whole milk, once approved for use, is pumped into storage silos where it undergoes pasteurization, homogenization, separation, and further processing. Milk is a highly perishable commodity because it is an excellent medium for the growth of microorganisms—particularly bacterial pathogens—that can cause spoilage as well as diseases in consumers. Milk processing allows the preservation of milk for days, weeks, or months and helps to reduce food-borne illness. An efficient milk marketing chain is one that enables farmers to receive at least 50% of the retail price of milk. The price of a product in the market is an important factor influencing consumer demand. When marketing a dairy product, the most important aspect of the strategy is determining the competition and audience. Through establishing these parameters, milk producers can help to flush out what aspect of a dairy business to highlight and where will be the most effective place to advertise to capture the target audience.

A large number of publications on milk production, processing, and marketing are available in the world market. The book under discussion has not been compiled to add yet another to such publications, rather it has been written using a novice format to meet the requirements of students, researchers, and policy makers working in different parts of the world in different environments in the fields of milk production, processing, and marketing.

> **Dr. Khalid Javed**  Professor, Department of Livestock Production, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore-Pakistan

**1**

**Chapter 1**

**Abstract**

Current Standing and Future

Challenges of Dairying in

Pakistan: A Status Update

*Muhammad Bilal and Hafiz Muhammad Nouman*

Pakistan is considered among the leading raw milk producing countries. Unlike the production systems in the developed countries, milk production systems in Pakistan represent smallholding with subsistence- or market-oriented-level farming followed by peri-urban or commercial-level farming. Historically, dairy sector has been owned and managed by the private sector. During the past two decades, new initiatives have been taken because of the active involvement of corporate private sector. These efforts have resulted in improvements like enlargement of herds and import of high-quality milk germ plasm, the productivity per animal, milk collection, processing and marketing, the supply of dairy inputs (machinery, equipment, feeds, semen, and elite dairy animals), and farmers knowledge, and skills on modern management practices. Conclusively, the dairy sector is performing at some sustainable level to meet the food requirements of the growing population and helping save a handful of foreign exchange. Yet, challenges like local replacements of high genetic potential dairy animals, health hazards of β-casein proteins, antibiotics and aflatoxins, and uneconomical operational costs facing the dairy industry in the near future need to be addressed. The main objective of this chapter is to identify the current trends in dairy industry of Pakistan and describe those factors, which can influence the sustainability and profitability of dairying in the near future.

**Keywords:** collection and processing, dairy inputs, food legislation, large peri-urban

Pakistan is considered among the leading raw milk producing countries. Unlike the production systems in the developed countries like United States of America and most of Europe, milk production systems in Pakistan have similar characteristics to the most developing countries of subcontinent. Characteristically, smallholding with subsistence- or market-oriented-level farming keeps the major share

Current dairying in Pakistan is a combination of both traditional and commercial methods of raising dairy animals, and producing milk and milk products. During last two decades, commercial farming with imported dairy inputs has increased and reached roughly about 1% of the total raw milk production. With the

(about 90%) followed by peri-urban or commercial-level farming [1].

dairy farming, profitability, sustainability

**1. Introduction**

*Muhammad Naeem Tahir, Roshan Riaz,* 
