PESHAWAR, Sept 23: The country is expected to produce 32,000 tons of olive oil annually after the completion of its olive grafting project. This was stated by the provincial director of Pakistan Oilseed Development Board Ghulam Idrees while talking to newsmen on Saturday at Tarnab farm.

He said that the board had extracted indigenous olive oil on an experimental basis and Pakistan Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) had described it of international quality standard.

He said that the project, which was initiated in 2000 under the accelerated promotion of olive cultivation in the NWFP and Potohar at a cost of Rs24.055 million, was completed in 2004.

The government, he said, had launched a project for rapid conversion of wild olive into oil bearing species in 2004 with an estimated cost of Rs186.379 million in 2001.

Under the project about eight million wild olive plants would be converted into oil bearing species in the NWFP, Punjab and Balochistan by 2008.

Mr Idrees said that so far 3.50 million olive trees had been converted. More than 4,000 trees had started bearing fruits during 2004-05 in Malakand, Cherat,

Attock, Hangu and Tarnab.

During the current year 13,000 olive plants had started production.

He said that the government would also train farmers, NGO workers and employees of the board in grafting of wild olive plants and the project would cost Rs39 million.