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Foreign exchange saving drive: Govt plans to boost local tea production to reduce import bill

By Ijaz Kakakhel

ISLAMABAD: To save the precious foreign exchange being spent on the import of tea, the government has initiated a scheme ‘Commercialisation of Tea Production through Public Private Partnership’ worth Rs 5.272 billion on commercial scale.

This programme will be implemented in the tea growing areas of NWFP and AJK with the help of private sector. Official in the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) told Daily Times that after completing the project in 2011, the country would be produce about 1000 kilogram tea per acre per annum. According to the officials about 4200 acres of land would be brought under tea production.

The officials said that the country has a long tradition in tea consumption, which has become an integral part of the social life. The per capita consumption of tea is 1 kg. All the tea consumed in the country is being imported. Last year the government imported approx 102,000 metric tonnes of black tea with the total cost of Rs 13.73 billion and 1,260 metric tonnes of green tea with total cost of Rs 104 million. Pakistan imports its black tea from 21 different tea-producing countries with the major share of 63 percent from Kenya. Green tea is imported from China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Keeping in view the heavy drain of precious foreign exchange the GoP started tea cultivation in the northern parts of NWFP in districts Mansehra, Battagaram and Swat. Simultaneously, the private sector and the provincial Tea Development cell of NWFP also started tea plantation on the farmers’ land in small pockets. For processing the black tea from the raw material obtained from tea gardens at the NTRI and farmers’ filed, a processing plant with the capacity of one tonne made tea per day was procured form China and installed at the NTRI during the year 2001.

During the same year the private sector Lever Brother (Pvt) Ltd, also procured the black tea processing plant with the capacity of one tonne tea per day. A pilot green tea plant with the capacity of 100 kg made tea was installed with the financial assistance of the Pakistan Science Foundation, Islamabad at NTRI, Shinkiari. Similarly, a pilot green tea processing plant of 50 kg capacity was installed for Tea Development Cell, NWFP at Matta Swat.

The successful plantation has been demonstrated, its yield potential and quality have been assessed to be economically viable and finally a production package has been evolved by the long efforts of scientists.

Tea is the world’s most popular beverage due to its palatability, comparative cheapness and other beneficial effect. Such as a source of dietary water, stimulatory effect on central nervous system causing pleasure with increased capacity for sustained intellectual efforts, more rapid flow of thoughts and ideas accompanied with reduction in fatigue. Tea plant originally from South East China, gradually expanded to India, Srilanka and further into tropical and sub-tropical countries.

The project aims at development of tea production as part of diversification to high value agriculture and increase in agriculture development in the remote region of NWFP and AJK according to their specific comparative advantages. The project also helped in creation of economic opportunities in the mountain areas and alleviation of poverty in remote areas.

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