PESHAWAR:
Wasabi is a Japanese horseradish that is used to make a sauce served with Sushi in Japan. It is very popular in Japan and has limited production. Therefore, its price remains high and is imported into Japan to cater to the high local demand. One kilogram of Wasabi is sold for up to $390 in Japan, the EU and US. It is commercially grown in Japan, Australia, Canada, and a few other countries.
The Wasabi plant requires clear mountain stream water, a shaded area, a temperature between 8 to 20 degrees and high humidity in summer. It is one of the hardest crops to grow commercially but has a very high income. Even though wasabi commercial harvesting techniques were created and perfected in Japan, the country is always looking for a new source of wasabi. In Pakistan, the northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) regions can grow wasabi as a cash crop. The K-P government can request the help of the Japanese government in constructing wasabi commercial farms in partnership with local investors to directly export to Japan.
The Japanese organisations can help identify the best locations, design the farms, teach wasabi cultivation to local partners, and purchase the wasabi produced. The K-P government can provide land on lease, find suitable local investors for each project, create rules and regulations for the industry and help with licenses, registrations, and other requirements. The local partners will be responsible for managing the farms. This can help introduce a new cash crop for Pakistan and also introduce new agriculture techniques to locals.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 26th, 2022.
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