Pakistan Agribusiness Investments in Dairy & Livestock

[Riaz Haq]

US venture investor Tim Draper, Swiss food giant Nestle, and American beverage titan Coca Cola are investing heavily in Pakistan's agribusiness.

Silicon Valley private equity investor Tim Draper, a well-known international venture capitalist, is quietly investing in Pakistan's agribusiness, the largest provider of food commodities in the Middle East, according to San Francisco Examiner.

The share of livestock in Pakistan's agriculture output nearly doubled from 25.3 percent in 1996 to 49.6 percent in 2006, according to FAO. As part of the continuing livestock revolution, Nestle is investing $334 million to double its dairy output in Pakistan, according to Businessweek. Reuters is reporting that the company has already installed 3,200 industrial-size milk refrigerators
at collection points across the country to start the
kind of cold storage chain essential for a modern dairy industry, and
give farmers a steady market for their milk. In another development on the infrastructure front, Express Tribune has reported that  Pakistan Horti Fresh Processing (Pvt)
Limited has invested in the world's largest hot treatment plant to process 15 tons of mangoes per hour for exports.  Hot water treatment  will also help reduce waste of fruits and vegetables by increasing shelf-life for domestic consumption.
 

The Coca-Cola Company is planning to invest another US$280 million by 2013 in
Pakistan, according to BMI's Q3 2012 Food & Beverage Report for Pakistan.  Coke plans to channel the bulk of its
capital expenditures towards increasing the production of its existing
brands as well as expanding its overall beverages portfolio. Coca-Cola
plans to introduce more juices and mineral water in the Pakistani market
over the coming years. This strategy could diversify Coca- Cola’s
presence beyond the carbonates sector and help it secure early footholds
in the higher-value bottled water and fruit juice segments, which boast
tremendous long-term promise.

In addition to foreign investors, big name Pakistani companies like Dawood Group's Engro, billionaire industrialist Mian Mansha's Nishat Group and former minister Jahangir Khan Tareen's JK Dairies are placing big bets on food and beverage market in the country. Annual milk consumption in Pakistan reached 230 kg per capita in 2005, more than twice India's per capita consumption, according to FAO.

Business Monitor International expects "Pakistani agriculture sector to reap record harvests for key crops
such as rice, sugar and cotton owing to favorable weather in 2011 and the year-on-year increase in
crop area following floods in 2010". "We expect the dairy, poultry and
wheat industries to be the biggest beneficiaries of increased investment in the agriculture sector", adds BMI's report.

 Pakistan is world’s eighth
largest consumer of food and food is
the second biggest industry in the country, providing 16 per cent
employment in production, according to report published in Express Tribune.  In addition to rising domestic demand, growth in agribusiness is supplemented by
increased exports as Pakistan expands trade with new partners. BMI expects basmati rice to take
up a greater share of the trade as production increases. Cotton production to 2015/16: 45.5% to 12.8 million bales. Increased demand from Europe and
emerging markets will drive output. BMI also expect an increase in domestic farmers switching
from rice and sugar to cotton cultivation. Sugar production to 2015/16: 22.1% to 4.8 million tons. Large-scale consumers such as
confectioners, candy makers and soft drink manufacturers account for about 60% of the total
sugar demand and will be the main drivers of growth.

Pakistan witnessed a livestock revolution follow Green Revolution. Here's how International Livestock Research Institute puts the dramatic changes in Pakistan's agriculture sector since the mid 1960s: 

 Since the mid 1960s, investment in Green Revolution technologies – high-yielding varieties of cereals, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation and mechanization of farm operations – significantly increased cereal crop productivity and output. Success in the crop sector created a platform for diversification of farm and non-farm activities in the rural areas including the livestock sector, especially the dairy sector. Some of the Green Revolution technologies had a direct impact on the dairy sector while others had an indirect impact. Increased cereal productivity and output helped to reduce prices of cereals relative to other commodities in both rural and urban areas. This, along with increased income from high crop-sector growth, created  demand for better-quality foods including livestock products. This created market opportunities and incentives for crop producers to diversify into higher-value products, such as milk, meat, vegetables and fruits.

Pakistan has made significant progress in agriculture and livestock sectors showing that it has the potential to feed its people well and produce huge surpluses to fuel exports boom. The continuation of this progress will depend largely on success in making needed public and private investments in energy and water infrastructure and education and health care.

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World Bank Report on Pakistan Agribusiness

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[Riaz Haq]

India ranks 43rd in the global ranking in average per capita tea consumption with 0.73 kg compared with 7.54 kgs in Turkey, 4.34 kgs in Morocco, 2.74 kgs in United Kingdom and 1.01 kgs in Pakistan.

https://www.business-standard.com/article/markets/tea-board-on-prom...

Per capita consumption of tea
Country Quantity (Per KG)
Turkey 7.54
Morocco 4.34
Ireland 3.22
United Kingdom 2.74
UAE 1.89
Kuwait 1.61
Russia 1.21
Iran 1.07
Pakistan 1.01
India 0.73
Source: Industry, Wikipedia

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan among top three dairy producers
Amin Ahmed Updated June 01, 2017 

https://www.dawn.com/news/1336575

ISLAMABAD: The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations says Pakistan is among the three countries in Asia and Pacific region which are the world’s top dairy producing countries.

The total value of Asian dairy production exceeded $110 billion in 2013, and figured in the three top commodities in the region in terms of gross value of production. While the dairy production in Pakistan, India and China largely meet domestic consumption, Australia and New Zealand produce a surplus, FAO says on the occasion of World Milk Day being celebrated on June 1 (Thursday).

According to latest figures published in Pakistan Economic Survey 2016-17, milk production in the country is on the increase and during the current fiscal year the gross production of milk was estimated to be 56,080,000 tonnes.

FAO warned that while dairy has big potential, the sector needs to be more sustainable and competitive in Asia and Pacific region. This means helping smallholder farmers gain greater access to markets and services and develop successful dairy business models to increase domestic production.


The aim is to create a sector, which is socially responsible and produces safe and healthy food making more efficient use of the natural resources and reduces the effects on the environment. Only by doing so, will the sector become more sustainable for the benefit of future generations. FAO remains committed to working with all stakeholders to achieve a dairy sector that contributes to health and prosperity of the world.

An Asia Pacific Regional Audit done by the International Osteoporosis Foundation has concluded that the average dietary calcium intake in Asia is well below the FAO-WHO recommendation of 1,000 to 1,300 milligrams per day and most Asian countries have seen a two-to-three fold increase in the incidence of hip fractures during the past 30 years.

In order to facilitate dairy farmers, duty free import of calf milk replacer and cattle feed premix was allowed. During the current fiscal year, 310.2 metric tonnes of calf milk replacer and 298.9 metric tons of cattle feed premix was imported.

Last December, the Royal Friesland Company acquired 51 per cent of Engro Foods Pakistan, which was one of the largest private sector foreign direct investments in Pakistan’s dairy sector, amounting to $450 million.

Under the new deal and 2020 strategy arrangements, Engro Foods will aim for higher milk quality, variety of milk packages and products and farmers’ capacity building leading to a reduction in poverty.

In addition, regulatory duties to the tune of 25pc have been imposed on the import of skimmed milk powder and whey powder. This is to attract further investments in the dairy sector along with protecting small dairy farmers.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistan needs to develop tuna processing facilities. The country has a substantially large #tuna fleet catching about 70,000 tonnes of tuna every year. #fishing https://www.dawn.com/news/1450836

The experts had consensus over the importance of observer data which, they said, was vital for fisheries management, providing an independent source of detailed and high-quality information on fishing activities and catches.

Effective management of shared tuna stocks in the Indian Ocean, they said, could only be achieved through provision of consistent and robust data for which there was a need to establish and strengthen national observer programmes by regional countries.

In this regard, there was a specific suggestion for use of modern instruments such as vessel monitoring system, electronic logbooks and electronic monitoring systems.

Fabio Fiorellato, the data coordinator at the IOTC secretariat, provided updates on the level of compliance with the IOTC Regional Observer Scheme (ROS).

According to him, details of 375 observers from 15 CPCs (Contracting Parties and Cooperating, non-contracting parties) — as of today — have been provided to the IOTC secretariat in accordance with the ROS requirements and that these do not yet include Pakistani observers as it doesn’t have a scientific national observer programme.

Participants explored alternative protocols to support observer data collection and reporting tools during the workshop. One of them was the crew-based observer scheme being successfully implemented by Pakistan.

Presenting Pakistan’s tuna fisheries’ status, Mohammad Moazzam Khan of WWF-P said that the country had a substantially large tuna fleet catching about 70,000 tonnes of tuna every year.

Of the eight tuna species found in Pakistan, the three dominating ones were yellow fin, skipjack, longtail tuna, which constituted 70 per cent of the tuna landing, he said, adding that kawakawa, frigate tuna, bullet tuna and stripped tuna were other tuna species found in the country’s waters.

On shortcomings in data collection, he said that his organisation had initiated an important crew-based programme whereby information was collected through fishermen. The programme had received international recognition.

“Pakistan can contribute significantly to the national economy by developing proper fish handling and processing facilities and, at the same time, complying with the IOTC requirements,” he observed.

Speakers included director general of conservation and rehabilitation of marine resources, Iran Fisheries Organisation, Dr Reza Shahifar, senior researcher at the Fisheries Research Institute, Mozambique, José Sebastião Halafo, fisheries development commissioner at the Ministry of Maritime Affairs Asad Rafiq Chandna and secretary of Balochistan coastal development and fisheries Arshad Hussain Bugti.

The workshop in the next two days will discuss the feasibility of adopting alternative data collection methods in order to ensure science-based management regime for tuna fisheries of the Indian Ocean countries.

[Riaz Haq]

#American #agribusiness giant Cargill to grow #Pakistan business with US$200 million investment for expansion across its #agriculture trading and supply chain, edible #oils, #dairy, #meat and animal feed businesses while ensuring safety, food traceability. https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/420270-cargill-to-grow-pakistan-b...

Cargill renewed its long standing commitment to Pakistan by announcing plans to invest more than US$200 million in the next three-to-five years.

The announcement was made soon after Cargill’s global executive team, led by Marcel Smits, head of Global Strategy and Chairman, Cargill Asia Pacific region, and Gert-Jan van den Akker, president, Cargill Agricultural Supply Chain, met with the Prime Minister Imran Khan and other senior government officials to discuss the company’s future investment plans.

Being a global food and agriculture producer with a strong focus on Asia, Cargill aims to partner on Pakistan’s growth by bringing its global expertise and investment into the country.

The company’s strategy includes expansion across its agricultural trading and supply chain, edible oils, dairy, meat and animal feed businesses while ensuring safety and food traceability.

Cargill will bring world class innovations to support the flourishing dairy industry in Pakistan, which is already moving toward modernization, as well as the rising demand for edible oils backed by evolving consumption patterns and a growing market for animal feed driven by sustained progress made by the poultry industry in Pakistan.

Cargill’s proposed investments will support Pakistan’s overall economic development and contribute to local employment.

The visiting delegation informed the Prime Minister that M/s Cargill intended to invest in Pakistan as back as 2012 but were discouraged by mismanagement, corruption and non-availability of level playing field during the previous governments. However, investor’s confidence has restored after the incumbent Government and the policies being pursued by it.

The prime minister welcomed investment plans of M/s Cargill in the area of agriculture development, import substitution and enhancement of agricultural products.

He highlighted the efforts of the government towards ensuring transparency, providing the business community with level playing field and improving ease of doing business in the country.

The PM assured the delegation full support from the government.

[Riaz Haq]

Cargill details major investment in Pakistan

https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/13172-cargill-details-maj...

Cargill has announced plans to invest more than $200 million in Pakistan over the next three to five years. The funds will be used to expand Cargill’s agricultural trading and supply chain, edible oils, dairy, meat and animal feed businesses in the country. Additionally, the company has earmarked funds for safety and food traceability efforts.

“Having been in Pakistan for more than 30 years, Cargill is happy to demonstrate our commitment to the country’s future through investment in our business and communities here,” said Imran Nasrullah, country head, Cargill Pakistan. “Finalizing one of our first investments in the agricultural supply chain in Pakistan is our top priority. We have received a very positive response from the Pakistani government, and we value their support as we expand our presence here, helping industries, farmers and communities succeed.”

Cargill started its Pakistan operations in 1984 and today has business interests in refined oils, animal feed, grains and oilseeds, cotton, sugar and metals. Cargill is one of the largest suppliers of palm oil and soybeans and cocoa powder to Pakistan. With the head office in Karachi, Cargill currently employs 50 people in Pakistan.

[Riaz Haq]

Dairy Sector: Time to Go All Out for Bolstering Performance
August 8, 2019 

https://www.sentinelassam.com/editorial/dairy-sector-time-to-go-all...


in Asia, strong output growth is forecast in the large traditional milk producers: India is expected to sustain its normal growth, while Pakistan looks set to increase production as high internal prices have stimulated investments in the sector. However, all of Pakistan’s increased production will be absorbed domestically. South America is all set to be the fastest-growing milk production region. Argentina’s milk production growth has been limited by lower returns due to large export taxes on milk products, whereby taxes are adjusted to maintain lower domestic prices. This policy-induced some milk producers to participate in national strikes and blockades in early 2008. Brazil may soon be the second largest exporter in the region, or even the largest if current trends continue over the next several years. In other parts of Latin America and the Caribbean, Mexico, one of the world’s largest importers of milk powders, will post limited milk production gains given high feed costs and a shortage of domestic available feed.

As a whole milk production in Africa is anticipated to be consistently below world average growth, showing weaker supply response to the price spike. But the United States’ dairy sector responded significantly to attractive internal and external prices in the last couple of years. However, this growth is lower than expected, due to the downturn in profitability experienced so far this year, as indicated by the milk to feed price ratio. This has limited milk yield growth and has induced higher culling of cows. In addition, the recent appreciation of the United States dollar has lowered the competitiveness of the United States’ industry on international markets compared with the situation of even a couple of years back. In Canada, higher feed costs have induced yet higher target prices, and this has limited domestic market growth; production is expected to remain stable.

[Riaz Haq]

Nestlé opens #juice #manufacturing plant in #Pakistan with $22 million. Nestle procuring Chaunsa #mangoes from 110 farms. It's world’s largest Milo (#chocolate malt drink) plant with the capacity to export the product to more than 20 countries worldwide. https://www.drinks-insight-network.com/news/nestle-juice-plant-paki...

Global food and beverage company Nestlé has expanded its juice production capacity in Pakistan with the opening of a $22m plant at its Sheikhupura Factory.

Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar inaugurated the company’s Nestlé Fruita Vitals plant.

The plant is the newest edition to the company’s facilities operating in Pakistan and has 24,000 units per hour production capacity. It produces Nestlé’s range of juices, nectars and drinks.

Sarwar said: “We aim to create conditions in which foreign companies are attracted towards making new investments. At present, the government is making concerted efforts to revive the nation’s economy.

“I am really pleased to see that Nestlé, one of the world’s leading food and beverage companies, is making such good progress in Pakistan.”

The investment is reported to be one of the largest investments made by Nestlé in Pakistan in recent times.

Nestlé Pakistan CEO Samer Chedid said: “Nestlé’s recent investment is a testament to our continuous trust in Pakistan and its growth potential. We are also excited about integrating our Chaunsa value chain.

“We are procuring Chaunsa mangoes from the 110 farms that we introduced interventions to improve their yield’s quantity and quality.

“This integration demonstrates our Creating Shared Value approach in which we ensure that our activities and products are making a positive difference to society while contributing to Nestlé’s ongoing success.”

Last month, Nestlé Malaysia opened its expanded Milo manufacturing facility at Chembong, Negeri Sembilan.

The facility is claimed to be the world’s largest Milo manufacturing site, with the capacity to export the product to more than 20 countries worldwide.

[Riaz Haq]

Trade churn: Who will milk the benefits?

https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/trade-churn-who-will-milk-...


According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation 2017, India is the largest milk producer in the world which contributes 21% to the world milk production followed by the United States (12%), Pakistan (5.3%), China (4.2%), Brazil (4%), Germany (3.9%), Russia (3.7%), New Zealand (2.5%), Netherlands (1.7%) and Australia (1%). In terms of numbers of dairy farmers, India is followed by Pakistan (7 million), the United States (0.038 million), China (0.013 million), New Zealand (0.012 million) and Australia (0.005 million).

India has around 73 million dairy farmers mostly holding one or two milch animal per farmer. Also, in India, farmers share in the retail price of milk is around 60%, the highest amongst other countries (International Farm Comparison Network, Dairy Report, 2018). Whereas, in the case of New Zealand and Australia, where average holding is 430 and 263 milch animals per farmer, respectively, price share is only 23% and 24%. Similar is the situation in the United States, Germany, France, and Denmark, where farmers receive only 43%, 45%, 34% and 43% of consumers’ price on milk and milk products, respectively.

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India’s livestock sector ensures food security, provides employment, which leads to a reduction poverty and, more importantly, rural inequity. This is also evident from the increasing dependence of Indian farmers on livestock. Share of livestock sector to Gross Value Added (GVA) increased from 4% in 2011 to 4.6% in 2016. While share of agriculture and allied sector to gross value added consistently declined from 18.5% to 17.9%, during this period share of livestock in agricultural and allied gross value added increased from 22% to 26%. Among the livestock products, milk and milk product consist the highest share (67%) in the value of output from the livestock sector. Besides, this sector has been growing 11%, compounded annually, whereas the agricultural and allied sectors have grown 9% over this period. In recent years, milk and milk products are the largest agricultural commodity generating 32% more output than combined output of paddy and wheat.

[Riaz Haq]

Domestic and foreign investors have started showing interest in oil palm farming following satisfactory results from trial production of the oil palm fruit in Thatta.
Besides a domestic edible oil company, a delegation of local traders and the Malaysian embassy visited a 50-acre oil palm fruit orchard in Kathore, Thatta to assess quality of the fruit and suitability of soil.
The delegation along with Sindh Environment, Climate Change and Coastal Development (ECCCD) Secretary Muhammad Aslam Ghauri also visited a palm oil producing mill set up by the provincial government and inspected its production process, said an ECCCD spokesperson on Monday.
“Expressing satisfaction over the quality and production environment in the region, officials were of the view that it provided excellent investment opportunities for oil palm cultivation and palm oil production, which should be fully utilised by the global and local business communities,” he said.
On the occasion, the secretary told the delegation that Sindh had crossed an important milestone through successful experimentation with oil palm cultivation.
He said that the project would play a key role in prosperity of Pakistan and meet domestic demand for palm oil to a great extent.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2276889/oil-palm-farming-attracts-inve...

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Edible oil including soybean and palm into the country during first four months of current financial year increased by 42.99% and 30.57% respectively as compared the exports of the corresponding period of last year.

During the period from July to October 2020-21, about 72,631 metric tons of soybeans costing $48.168 million imported as against the import of 48, 489 metric tons valuing $33.687 million of same period of last year.

According the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, during the period under review about 1,049,134 metric tons of palm oil worth of $661.445 million imported as against the import of 929,331 metric tons valuing $506.586 million of same period last year.

During the period under review imports of palm oil into the country witnessed about 30.

57% increase as against the imports of the same period of last year, it added.

It is worth mentioning here that in last four months of current financial year food group imports into the country grew by 43.49 percent as different food commodities costing $2.272 billion imported as against the imports of 1.583 billion of the same period of last year.

On the other hand, food group exports from the country during the period review went down by 16.77 percent as it was recorded at $1.331 billion from July-October, 2020 as compared to $1.359 billion of the corresponding period of last year.

On month on month basis, the exports of food commodities post 13.42 percent reduction in month of October, 2020 as compared the same month of last year, whereas imports into the country during the period under review grew by 15.14 percent


https://www.urdupoint.com/en/business/edible-oil-including-soybean-...

[Riaz Haq]

Dietary fats are essential to give your body energy and to support cell growth. They also help protect your organs and help keep your body warm. Fats help your body absorb some nutrients and produce important hormones, too. Your body definitely needs fat.

https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/fa...

Eating foods with fat is definitely part of a healthy diet. Just remember to choose foods that provide good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) and balance the amount of calories you eat from all foods with the amount of calories you burn. Aim to eat a dietary pattern that emphasizes intake of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains; includes low-fat dairy products, poultry, fish, legumes, non-tropical vegetable oils and nuts; and limits intake of sodium, sweets, sugar sweetened beverages and red meats. Doing so means that your diet will be low in both saturated fats and trans fats.