A report issued by the Pakistani Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Livestock (MINFAL) showed that the country’s imports of tea have reached a record of $220 million last year due to rising tea demand locally, Khaleej Times reported.
According to Pakistani sources, the government will soon launch commercialization of tea production under a public-private partnership program aimed at reducing tea import bill, as MINFAL has finalized a plan that sought to produce tea as import substitution intervention in line with the objectives of the Medium Term Development Framework (MTDF).
According to the plan, tea plantation on 4,000 acres by private sector will be facilitated which included 800 acres by NWFP extension department, 200 acres by AJK extension department and 50 acres in FATA. It has also been decided to provide technical support to the private sector through training of their manpower and help establish their tea nurseries.
