KARACHI: To reduce its dependence on the costly import of edible oils, Pakistan is increasing its focus on the domestic cultivation of olives, experts and farmers said, aiming to substitute the import of olive oil — which cost the country $11.1 million last year — with locally produced products within the next decade.
Pakistan in 2012 launched a major plantation project called Olive Valley in its Potohar region which includes Rawalpindi, Chakwal, Jhelum and Attock. The project, initiated by the Punjab government and executed by the Barani Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), was spread over 9,000 acres of land spanning the Mianwali and Khushab districts.
In 2019, Pakistan also commenced an ambitious drive to plant as many trees as possible from 550,000 high-quality olive saplings imported from Spain. The Pakistani military that year also helped graft nearly 25,000 wild olive plants in the country’s northwestern regions.
TrendEconomy, a Bulgaria-based global data warehouse, said Pakistan recorded an annual import decline of 4.13 percent in olive oil commodities last year. In 2020, Pakistan exported $17,968 worth of olive oil, including its by-products. The South Asian country imported edible oil worth $2.7 billion during this fiscal year, including $2.66 billion worth of palm oil and $95 million worth of soyabean.
“Though the [olive] plants are still in their early stages, the country had extracted around 53 tons of oil from domestic harvest last year,” Inamul Haq, a horticulturist at BARI who is working on the Olive Valley project, told Arab News. “Around 100 tons of olive fruit was produced last year.”
The new olive harvesting season, which will start in October this year, is expected to produce better yield, he added.
“We hope that within the next 5-7 years, the country would be able to replace the imports of olive oil to a large extent and within a decade would totally replace imports with the availability of oil at commercial scale,” Haq said.
“Commercial exports have not started yet but some food companies are working to export pickles made with olive oil,” Tariq Mehmood, a progressive olive farmer, told Arab News. “The production is gradually increasing.”
With a per capita consumption of 22 kilogram, Pakistan is the world’s eighth largest consumer of edible oil, with consumption standing at around 4-5 million tons, largely met through the import of palm oil and oilseed.
Pakistan’s edible oil market was recorded at Rs1,161 million in FY20, registering a year on year growth of 22 percent. Local consumption was recorded at around 4.9 million metric tons (MMT) in FY20, up three percent year on year, according to the Pakistan Credit Rating Agency (PACRA) research report.
“Pakistan used to produce 800,000 tons of oil locally every year from cotton seed and rapeseeds but due to crop decline the production has almost halved,” said Umer Rehan, a member of the executive committee of the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA).
He said the decline in local production was a burden on the foreign exchange position of the country but Pakistan could salvage the situation by “cultivating sunflowers in the coastal region of Sindh and refocusing on its cotton crop since the domestic demand for edible oil will increase as the country’s population will continue to grow.”
During the current fiscal year, Pakistan edible oil imports are anticipated to reach a record 3.7 million metric tons, up fve percent over the previous year to meet increased demand. Palm oil continues to be the major imported oil with imports forecast at 3.6 MMT, according to the Global Agricultural Information Network (GAIN).
As per GAIN data, oilseed imports are projected at 3.3 MMT, up six percent from the preceding year due to the growing importance of oilseed-based meals for the poultry, livestock and aquaculture sectors and the increasing production of edible oil for human consumption.
Pakistan focuses on domestic cultivation of olives to bring down import bill
https://arab.news/855qd
Pakistan focuses on domestic cultivation of olives to bring down import bill
- Pakistan in 2012 launched a major plantation project spread over 9,000 acres in its Potohar region
- Farmers say they hope to replace olive oil imports with locally produced product within the next decade
Pakistan, other Muslim states raise alarm over Gaza situation after heavy flooding
- Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing damaged buildings to collapse
- The situation has been compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies and materials
ISLAMABAD: Foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations on Friday voiced concern over the situation in Gaza, following severe flooding triggered by heavy rains in the territory.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza. But Palestinians are still being killed almost daily by Israeli fire, and the humanitarian crisis shows no signs of abating.
Cold winter rains have repeatedly lashed the sprawling tent cities over past weeks, turning Gaza’s dirt roads into mud and causing buildings damaged in Israeli bombardment to collapse. UNICEF says at least six children have now died of weather-related causes.
In a joint message, foreign ministers of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Qatar, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, expressed their “deepest concern” over the situation, compounded by lack of sufficient humanitarian access, acute shortages of essential life-saving supplies, and the slow pace of the entry of essential materials required for the rehabilitation of basic services.
“The ministers highlighted that the severe weather has laid bare the fragility of existing humanitarian conditions, particularly for almost 1.9 million people and displaced families living in inadequate shelters,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a joint statement.
“Flooded camps, damaged tents, the collapse of damaged buildings, and exposure to cold temperatures coupled with malnutrition, have significantly heightened risks to civilian lives, including due to disease outbreaks, especially among children, women, the elderly, and individuals with medical vulnerabilities.”
The statement came a day after UNICEF said a 7-year-old, Ata Mai, had drowned Saturday in severe flooding that engulfed his tent camp in Gaza City. Mai had been living with his younger siblings and family in a camp of around 40 tents.
They lost their mother earlier in the war, according to the UN agency.
Video from Civil Defense teams, shown on Al Jazeera, showed rescue workers trying to get Mai’s body out of what appeared to be a pit filled with muddy water surrounded by wreckage of bombed buildings. The men waded into the water, pulling at the boy’s ankle, the only part of his body visible. Later, the body is shown wrapped in a muddy cloth being loaded into an ambulance.
Foreign minister of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and other states appreciated the efforts of all United Nations (UN) organizations and agencies as well as non-government organizations (NGOs) in continuing to assist Palestinian civilians and deliver humanitarian assistance under extremely difficult and complex circumstances.
“They demanded that Israel ensure the UN and international NGOs are able to operate in Gaza and the West Bank in a sustained, predictable, and unrestricted manner, given their integral role in the humanitarian response in the Strip. Any attempt to impede their ability to operate is unacceptable,” the statement read.
The foreign ministers reaffirmed support to President Donald Trump’s plan for Gaza, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of the ceasefire, bringing an end to the war in Gaza, to secure a dignified life for the Palestinian people who have endured prolonged humanitarian suffering, and leading to a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood.
“In this context, they stressed the urgent need to immediately initiate and scale up early recovery efforts, including the provision of durable and dignified shelter to protect the population from the severe winter conditions,” the statement read further.
“The ministers called on the international community to uphold its legal and moral responsibilities and to pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift constraints on the entry and distribution of essential supplies including tents, shelter materials, medical assistance, clean water, fuel, and sanitation support.”
