Minister calls for production of tea on commercial scale

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal has called for tea plantations on a commercial scale to make Pakistan self-sufficient and save precious foreign reserves.

During a visit to the National Tea and High-Value Crops Research Institute (NTHRI) at Shinkiari, Mansehra, Ahsan Iqbal stressed the need for local tea production because the government was spending a huge amount of $0.50 billion on tea import.

He said that a comprehensive strategy would be formulated for tea production, processing, value addition and marketing so that tea production could be made a successful business.

He said that private sector investors would be invited and encouraged in the tea commercialisation plan. He said that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Department of Forests and Agriculture, in close liaison with the NTHRI, would play a key role in the commercialisation of tea.

Ahsan Iqbal also said that immediate steps would be taken by the government for removing the obstacles to the commercialisation of tea, which is the top priority of the government.

The minister along with Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Murtaza Javed Abbasi, MPA Sardar Mohammad Yousuf and others also visited tea gardens and tea processing plants at the NTHRI, where they were briefed on the steps involved in tea cultivation and processing.

PARC Chairman Dr Ghulam Muhammad Ali highlighted the role of PARC in the development of tea production and processing technologies.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25^th, 2022.