Peshawar   -   Various areas in Pakistan and especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are suitable for tea cultivation, which have identified a GIS-based survey.

This was told during a meeting of the Special Assistant to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa CM on Industries, Commerce and Technical Education Abdul Karim Tordher with Farrukh Toirov, Provincial Head and Deputy Country Representative of the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a subsidiary agency of United Nations, here at Agricultural University Peshawar on Wednesday.

During the meeting, the SACM was briefed regarding the possibilities of tea cultivation and a comprehensive study conducted in this regard. Besides, Director Business Development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Board of Investment and Trade (KPBoIT), Iqbal Sarwar, Manager Tourism Gul Muhammad was also present on the occasion.

They were told that Pakistan is the largest importer of tea in the world and imports 252,000 tons of tea every year and by the year 2031, the demand will increase to 317,000 tons. According to the ground facts, 271,406 acres of land could be purely utilised for tea cultivation of which most of the suitable areas are located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

These suitable areas include Mansehra, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Swat, Shangla, Kohistan Upper, Kohistan Lowe Kolai Palas, Battagram, Torghar, Abbottabad, Buner, Haripur, Malakand and Mardan. The utilisation of the identified areas has potential to produce 190,000 tons of tea annually, which is 75% of the current requirement of the country.

Speaking on the occasion, the SACM KP termed the technical study conducted by the international organisation as very useful and beneficial, saying their priority is to develop this sector under the business model.

He said that on behalf of the provincial government they will make efforts to practically use this study. He said that we will talk to the agriculture authorities to take effective measures in this regard. He added that similar comprehensive and technical study by the international organisation will also be very useful for trout fish breeding.