Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has announced that Pakistan will send 100 young agriculture graduates to Italy for specialised training in olive production. The decision came during the launch of the National Olive Value Chain Policy in Islamabad on Monday.
The government will fully fund the programme. Graduates will learn modern methods of olive cultivation, processing, marketing and value-chain management. After returning, they will help build Pakistan’s domestic olive industry.
Pakistan currently spends about four billion dollars every year on edible oil imports. The Prime Minister said even saving 400 million dollars through local production would be a major success. He expressed confidence that the country can reach self-sufficiency in edible oil within a few years.
Olive trees in Pakistan have grown from around 500,000 in 2016 to more than seven million today. They are planted across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Sindh, covering about 60,000 acres. The new policy focuses on production, processing, quality control, branding and exports so Pakistan can become a regional hub for olive oil.
Shehbaz Sharif thanked Italy for more than 70 years of partnership in agriculture and industry. He also called for greater cultivation of palm and sunflower crops alongside olives to further cut the import bill.
