Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world after water. No exception in the world’s largest tea importing nation, Pakistan as well. Tea is a ways of life in Pakistan. On cold winter evenings in Lahore’s Lakshmi Chowk, a bustling marketplace well known for street food, tea vendors sell a pink tea beverage known as Kashmiri chai. As China Economic Net had reported, while pursuing tea plantations on a commercial scale, the government of Pakistan has decided to cultivate tea on an area of about 25,000 acres over the next five years.

On the recommendation of Chinese tea experts, the National Tea Research Institute (NTRI), later renamed as National Tea & High value crops Research Institute (NTHRI), was set up on 50 acres of land in Shinkiari in 1986. NTHRI is playing an important role in promoting tea cultivation in Pakistan.

Out of the proposed 25,000 acres of land, 10,000 are government-owned forests; 12,000 acres are private land where the Forest Department has planted forests while 3,000 acres of land have been identified in Azad Kashmir. As per the government plan, during the next phase, the tea plantation would be extended to all tea-cultivable lands of the country.

Pakistan has great potential for growing tea, according to Mr. Jamshed Iqbal Cheema, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Food Security, as the country has 178,000 acres of tea cultivable land. “Pakistan can grow its own tea,” he said, adding that the country imported 30 million tons of tea each year from 15 different tea-producing countries.

Cheema said Pakistan spent USD 0.54 billion annually on importing tea. The import value of black tea is USD 0.53 billion while USD 0.01 billion goes to green tea’s import.

While inviting private tea companies to invest in the tea sector, Cheema said, “We are ready to facilitate and solve any problems of the private companies regarding their investment.” The government is providing an opportunity to the private companies to invest and to promote the tea trade, which would also create thousands of jobs for the locals. The Ministry of Food Security has allocated Rs8.5 billion budget for high-value crops and cluster development.

According to experts, China from the beginning has played a vital role in tea promotion in Pakistan. As potential suitable sites and land for tea cultivation are located alongside the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), China has a big role to play in promoting tea on a commercial scale through joint ventures and technical and financial support.

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References

1. Main Source: http://en.ce.cn/main/latest/202108/07/t20210807_36785946.shtml
2. More Info: http://www.parc.gov.pk/index.php/nthri-introduction