Being major player in the national economy, livestock sector is
an economic engine for poverty alleviation in
Pakistan. According to the economic survey of Pakistan 2017-18, its
contribution to agriculture value added is approximately 58.9%
and to national GDP is 11.1%.
Livestock of Pakistan include cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat,
camels, horses, asses and mules and they produce milk, meat,
wool, hair, bones, fat, blood eggs, hides and skins among which
milk and meat are the major products. Besides production, these
animals are also used for draught purposes.
Milk is produced by buffalo, cattle, sheep, goat and camel but
being major contributor in milk production, cattle and buffalo
are considered as major dairy animals.
Buffalos found in Pakistan make up 47% of Pakistan's major dairy
animal's population providing more than about 61% of the total
milk produced in the country. Buffalo breeds found in Pakistan
are Nili Ravi, Kundi and Aza Kheli. Nili Ravi is considered the
best buffalo breed in world and known as Black Gold of Pakistan.
Cattle constitute about 53% of the national population of major
dairy animals in Pakistan and contribute the share of
almost 35% to the total milk production in country. The cattle
breeds found in the country are Sahiwal, Cholistani, Red Sndhi,
Achai, Bhagnari, Dajal, Dhanni, Gibrali, Kankraj, Lohani, Rojhan,
and Thari. Out of these, Sahiwal, Cholistani, and Red Sindhi are
main dairy breeds and well known internationally due to their
distinct characteristics. Other than well-defined cattle breeds,
there are a large number of nondescript and crossbred cattle in
this country.
Over few years, the importance of crossbred
animals has been increased due to start of the development in
dairy sector on commercial lines. The crossbred animals are
mostly preferred for commercial dairy farms due to their higher
production. Mostly cross of local cows (like Sahiwal and
Cholistani) with imported cows (like Holstein Friesian and
Jersey) is demanded by such farms. Besides our local and
crossbred animals, imported animals are also the part of dairy
cow family of Pakistan. Corporate Dairy Farms prefer dairy
animals from other countries and run their farms on most modern
lines with international expertise. These animals are imported
form Australia, America and Sweden. The breeds of these imported animals are Holstein
Friesian, Jersey and Freisian Jersey Cross.
Sheep and goats are reared in rural areas but their main purpose
is mutton production. The milk produced from these small
ruminants is used domestically. Camel is the animal of nomads
who raise this animal to sell on Eid ul Adha. The milk produced
by camel
is used to meet the family needs. Some nomads also sell camel
milk in urban areas and its demand is increasing day by day due
to medicinal value. If we work on camel breeds, we can find
camel as a good dairy animal.
Most of the milk produced in Pakistan comes from cattle
and buffalo. The rest of it is collectively produced by sheep,
goat and camel which, most of the time, is not sold as such,
rather consumed domestically or mixed with buffalo and cow milk.
Estimated current National livestock Population based on
National Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18 is given below:
Species |
Population (Million) |
Cattle |
46.1 |
Buffalo |
38.8 |
Sheep |
30.5 |
Goat |
74.1 |
Camel |
1.1 |
Estimated current National Population of Cattle Breeds based on
National Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18 is given below:
Breeds |
Population (Million) |
Sahiwal |
4.29 |
Red Sindhi |
4.73 |
Thari |
2.78 |
Bhag Nari |
1.61 |
Rojhan |
0.59 |
Dhanni |
2.31 |
Kankraj |
0.42 |
Lohani |
0.87 |
Achai |
1.06 |
Gabralli |
0.36 |
Foreign/Cross Bred |
5.77 |
Others |
21.31 |
Estimated current National Population of Buffalo Breeds based on
National Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18 is given below:
Breeds |
Population (Million) |
Nili Ravi |
14.79 |
Kundhi |
9.48 |
Azakhale |
0.17 |
Others |
14.37 |
Estimated current Provincial Livestock Population based on National
Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan 2017-18 is
given below:
(Millions)
Province |
Cattle |
Buffalo |
Sheep |
Goat |
Camel |
Punjab |
22.48 |
25.2 |
7.32 |
27.32 |
0.23 |
Sindh |
10.8 |
10.42 |
4.56 |
17.32 |
0.33 |
KPK |
9.31 |
2.74 |
3.87 |
13.22 |
0.09 |
Balochistan |
3.51 |
0.45 |
14.74 |
16.23 |
0.45 |
Estimated current Provincial Population of Cattle Breeds based on
National Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18 is given below:
(Millions)
Breeds |
Punjab |
Sindh |
KPK |
Balochistan |
Sahiwal |
3.22 |
0.22 |
0.73 |
0.13 |
Red Sindhi |
0.25 |
4.13 |
0.17 |
0.19 |
Thari |
0.19 |
2.50 |
0.08 |
0.03 |
Bhag Nari |
0.17 |
0.39 |
0.08 |
0.95 |
Rojhan |
0.28 |
0.11 |
0.13 |
0.06 |
Dhanni |
1.75 |
0.20 |
0.28 |
0.06 |
Kankraj |
0.11 |
0.14 |
0.14 |
0.02 |
Lohani |
0.20 |
0.08 |
0.20 |
0.38 |
Achai |
0.13 |
0.00 |
0.94 |
0.01 |
Gabralli |
0.16 |
0.00 |
0.19 |
0.03 |
Foreign /Cross Bred |
3.97 |
0.20 |
1.33 |
0.27 |
Others |
12.06 |
2.84 |
5.05 |
1.38 |
Estimated current Provincial Population of Buffalo Breeds based on
National Livestock Census 2006 and Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18
is given below:
(Millions)
Breeds |
Punjab |
Sindh |
KPK |
Balochistan |
Nili Ravi |
13.4 |
0.48 |
0.88 |
0.03 |
Kundhi |
1.29 |
7.52 |
0.34 |
0.33 |
Azakhale |
0.07 |
0.00 |
0.09 |
0.00 |
Others |
10.43 |
2.41 |
1.43 |
0.10 |
Milk is favourite food in Pakistan and is consumed as fresh, boiled,
powdered and in processed form like yogurt, ghee, lassi, butter,
cheese, ice cream, sweets and in other confectioneries. The
interesting thing regarding the dairy sector of Pakistan is that
although it is third largest milk producing country in the world but
still its production falls short to meet the national demand. It is
not possible to say that Pakistan is deficient in Milk Production.
Pakistan is sufficient in milk production but issue is with supply
chain as milk is produced in sufficient volume is few pockets of
country but its demand is nationwide. So to fulfill the national
demand of milk the need is to manage its supply chain to ensure its
availability through out the country.
Current Milk Production and its availability for human consumption
in Pakistan as per Economic Survey of Pakistan
2017-18
is given
below:
Species |
Milk Production
(Billion Liters) |
Human Milk Consumption (Billion Liters) |
Cattle |
20.903 |
16.722 |
Buffalo |
35.136 |
28.109 |
Sheep |
0.040 |
0.040 |
Goat |
0.915 |
0.915 |
Camel |
0.896 |
0.896 |
Total |
57.890 |
46.682 |
To get more such calculations related to livestock sector, don't
hesitate to contact us!
Let's have a look on different production systems of Pakistan. Till
late eighties, more than 60% of buffaloes and some cows were
maintained under the system of Rural Subsistence Production System.
In this system on an average there were 3 to 4 dairy animals with
one or two adult females. Almost 50 to 60% of the feed requirements
of these animals were fulfilled from grazing along with wheat straw
and some green fodder. ¼th of milk produced was sold out and
remaining was utilized for domestic use. This system still exists in
some areas of Pakistan.
With the time being Rural Subsistence Production System changed into
Rural Market-Oriented Smallholder Production System. Under this
system, on an average there were 5 to 7 animals per herd, inclusive
of cow; 3 to 4 adult lactating animals, one or two heifers, and one
or two male calves, but most often no bull. Feeding requirement of
lactating animals were fulfilled from fodder along with wheat straw
and seed cake. More than 70% of milk produced was sold either
directly or through middlemen. This system was practiced by those
smallholders who have access to nearby livestock markets.
In 1980s, dairy sector in Pakistan moved towards commercial side
and development of rural commercial dairy farms started. A typical
rural dairy farm running on commercial basis consisted of about 30
animals of which 70% were females, including some cows.
Approximately 40% of these adult females were in milk during most of
the year. Fodder crops provided 50% and straws about 35% of the feed
requirements and concentrates made the rest of it. More than 90% of
the milk produced at the farm was sold.
With growing demand for milk in urban areas rural commercial dairy
farming moved toward peri-urban areas. In peri-urban areas there are
large and small dairy herds consisting of 20-50 animals with nearly
90% of adult females in production. Male calves are disposed off
within first two weeks of birth. These animals are fed chopped green
fodder and
wheat straw and concentrate mixture with target to sell almost total
milk produced.
Over the last 2 to 3 decades,
large peri-urban commercial dairy farming has also emerged. Targets of these farms are to get maximum milk
production with economical and quality feeding and good management.
Animals on these farms are fed good quality green fodder or silage
along with concentrate mixture. Dairy animals maintained at these
farms are considered elite animals; hence their yields per lactation
are considerably higher than those of animals maintained under other
production systems. Milk produced on these farms is either sold out
in processed/fresh form through outlets or departmental stores or
supplied to dairy companies.
During last ten years major changes has been occurred in dairy
sector of Pakistan. A large number of modern dairy farms established in different areas. Most of these dairy farms have
exotic animals and number of these animals is in hundreds and even
in thousands. Dairy farms with more than 3000 animals also exist and
with 5000 animals are in plan. Such farms have adopted most modern managemental and feeding practices and well trained man power. Milk
produced on these farms is either sold out in processed/fresh form
through outlets/ departmental stores/house supply etc. or supplied
to dairy companies.
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