KARACHI/ ISLAMABAD: Pakistanis could soon be consuming locally-extracted, extra virgin olive oil as the country boosts its commercial production, following a collaboration with Italy, officials told Arab News on Friday.
Heavily-dependant on imported olive oil for its use, Pakistan began a revolutionarily project in 2012 by planting saplings in the tough terrain of the Pothwar region which includes Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock.
“In 2012, the Italian government initiated a multi-million funded project titled (Promotion of Olive Cultivation for Economic Development and Poverty Alleviation) signed by Pakistan Agriculture Research Council and Pakistan Italian Debt for Development Swap Agreement (PIDSA),” the Oilseed Development Board told Arab News in an email interview on Friday.
It added that the project was aimed at strengthening public/private partnership for the cultivation of olived on a commercial scale, extraction of olive oil, creation of direct and indirect job opportunities – thereby contributing toward poverty alleviation – saving important foreign exchange, making use of marginal and forest lands, and promoting a healthy ecosystem.
The Rs.382 million project aims to enhance local production and curtail the country’s import of olive oil, which is currently billed at around 4,000-5,000 metric tons.
“We have so far extracted extra virgin oil from the 65 tons of olive fruits in the oil extraction facility located at Barani Agriculture Research Institute BARI in Chakwal,” Inam-ul-Haq, Horticulturist at BARI, told Arab News on Friday. “The institute provides free extraction services to the olive farmers at the country’s only facility,” he added.
The government aims to develop the Pothwar region into an olive valley at a cost of Rs 2629.786 million with the sole objective of cultivating olives on 15,100 acres of land with the provision of 2,038,500 certified nursery plants, BARI said.
“We have planted more than a million olive trees that cover more than 8000 acres of land in Pothwar region,” Inam-ul-Haq said, adding that due to the success of the project, a significant production of olive plants and extraction of its oil “through public private cooperation is underway.”
Farmers, for their part, are expecting to replace imports with locally produced olive oil to a large extent, too.
“Earlier, the country’s reliance was 100 percent on imported olive oil but after the commencement of the local production, we are sure that within the next four years we would be able to substantially replace imports with local oil, if not totally replaced,” Basit Shakeel Hashmi, an olive farmer, told Arab News on Friday.
On Tuesday, Stefano Pontecorvo, Italy’s ambassador in Pakistan, tweeted photos of the first locally-manufactured “Pak olive”, adding that it would “soon be available in shops through an excellent, productive partnership”.
“Italy has become one of the most reliable olive exporters to Pakistan. In this context, H.E. Stefano the Ambassador of Italy to Pakistan is playing a pivotal role,” the Oilseed Development Board said.
Farmers, too, are optimistic that the locally-manufactured olive oil will find its place in the country’s stores as it meets international standards and is fairly priced. At the moment, fFlarmers are selling local oil between Rs 2,500 ($16) to Rs 4,000 ($25.70) per liter.
“Pakistan’s olive oil is 100 percent extra virgin but due to lack of food laws implementation the imported oil’s quality remains questionable,” Tariq Mehmood, an olive farmer, told Arab News, adding that the country needs to implement food laws “to check the inflow of substandard edible goods”.
Mehmood said that he is expecting around 11,000 to 12,000 kilograms from his farm, which has been declared as a model example, wherefrom he markets his product under the “Oil Garden” brand.
Rs382 mln project to produce 'made in Pakistan' olives begins to bear fruit
Rs382 mln project to produce 'made in Pakistan' olives begins to bear fruit
- Sole facility in Chakwal has extracted 65 tons of oil from the fruit this year alone, experts say
- More than 1mln trees planted across 8,000 acres of land in Pothwar region
Pakistan to sell excess gas in international markets from Jan.1— petroleum minister
- Pakistan was reportedly exploring ways to reduce $378 million in annual losses from supply glut caused by excess fuel imports
- Move to sell excess LNG in international markets will limit $3.56 billion losses caused since 2018-19, says petroleum minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will sell its excess liquefied natural gas (LNG) in international markets from Jan. 1, Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said, revealing the move would limit losses caused from a years-long supply gut.
Local and international media outlets had reported in July that Pakistan was exploring ways to sell excess LNG cargoes amid a gas supply glut that government officials said was costing domestic producers $378 million in annual losses. News reports had said Pakistan had at least three LNG cargoes in excess that it imported from Qatar and has no immediate use for.
Speaking to reporters during a press conference on Sunday, Malik said there was an excess of imported gas in Pakistan as the use of this fuel for power generation had reduced in the country during the past few months. He said Islamabad had been forced to sell the gas to local consumers, due to which the circular debt in the gas sector from 2018 till now had ballooned to around Rs1,000 billion [$3.56 billion].
“From Jan. 1 we will sell this excess fuel in international markets to reduce our burden and limit our losses of this Rs1,000 billion [$3.56 billion],” Malik said.
He said this move would also allow Pakistan’s state-owned enterprises in the sector to operate on their full capacity and generate profits and employment.
Malik also spoke of foreign oil companies that were ready to invest millions in the country in the near future.
The minister cited the recent visit of Turkish energy minister to Pakistan which had resulted in the state-owned Turkish Petroleum signing deals to carry out onshore and offshore drilling activities in Pakistan.
“Turkish Petroleum will also open its office in Islamabad, where 10 to 15 Turkish nationals will be working,” Malik said.
He also said that a delegation of the State Oil Company of Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) visit Pakistan this week, adding that it was also expected to collaborate with local companies for oil and gas exploration.
The minister said SOCAR was also opening its office in Pakistan.
“It will also invest millions of dollars in the construction of an oil pipeline from Machike to Thalian in collaboration with the PSO (Pakistan State Oil) and FWO (Frontier Works Organization),” Malik said.
