Sir: Pakistan is the fourth largest milk-producing country in the world (producing about 48 billion liters of milk each year). Milk is an essential food item and Pakistan is blessed in this respect as our agriculture sector produces enough milk to meet the people’s needs. Pakistan’s economy also depends upon the dairy industry. It is therefore quite surprising that the milk sellers charge such high prices and even then people get milk that is half water. The government seems to be paying no attention to the high prices of milk and is ignoring the fact that various elements in the milk business are making loads of money. It is also not clear why the food processing companies sell milk in tetra packs at such high prices. For instance if the price of loose milk in Karachi is Rs 80 per liter, Tetra Pack milk is available for Rs 100 per liter or even more. The government should investigate the causes of the problem. It is time that in the interest of the public the government looked into this matter and reduced the price of both loose and packed milk so that people can easily afford to buy this food item that offers great nutrition. ALI HASSAN Mandi Bahauddin