TEA plantations have shrunk from a peak of 700 acres a few years back, to around 40 acres, owing to government apathy and marketing problems.

Meanwhile, the country is heavily dependent on tea imports. More than Rs31bn worth of black tea was imported in 2015. The import bill of green tea was around Rs100m. These figures do not include the unchecked tea smuggled into the country.

To cut imports, the National Tea Research Institute (NTRI) — established in Shinkiari in Mansehra district of KP in 1986 — started tea plantation on 50 acres of land.

The institute had also surveyed and identified 64,000ha suitable for growing tea in Mansehra, Battagram, Swat and Upper Dir, and 2,000ha in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

With limited resources, the NTRI helped farmers in tea plantation on more than 700 acres. A multi-national company also grew tea on an area of 1,000 acres in the districts of Battagram and Mansehra.

NTRI Director Dr Farrukh Siyar Hamid told Dawn that tea plantation dropped to 40 acres in those areas where his institute helped farmers to cultivate tea. In case of the multinational company, the area dropped significantly to 200-300 acres. He listed several factors for the drop.

To cut imports, the National Tea Research Institute — established in Shinkiari in Mansehra district of KP in 1986 — started tea plantation on 50 acres of land

The experimental plantations were to be sustained by the governments of the KP and AJK which did not happen.

Marketing became a major issue for farmers who complained of poor returns for their produce. Things worsened when the lone tea processing plant in the public sector was closed down for want of sustained electricity supply.

Dr Hamid shared a few successes stories. The quality of local black tea is comparable to that of Kenya’s. He said, green tea cultivation and processing has recorded a greater success rate. He also claimed that the quality of green tea is much better to branded ones available in the market.

The government had installed a black tea processing plant with a capacity of one tonne a day and a pilot green tea processing plant with a capacity of 80-150kg/day. The plants cannot be run on a regular basis because of non-availability of electricity. “We can’t afford to run the plant on diesel”, Mr. Hamid said.

The institute also trained small tea growers/progressive farmers in tea cultivation and processing. Tea can be cultivated in hilly areas and on the wasteland of the forest department. Experts suggest farmers should be offered interest-free loans with an extended period of loan recovery.

Pakistan imported 164,290 metric tonnes of tea in 11 months (2015-16) as against 141,257 metric tonnes in the previous year, up 16.31pc. Annual figures are expected to reach around 190,000 metric tonnes. The total consumption is estimated at 248,000 metric tonnes. The gap is met through smuggling.

The tea plantation, it is stated, was not sustained especially in Swat due to a lack of interest of the provincial government. Also in the post and pre-operation against militants in Swat, not only was the tea plantation disturbed, but the green tea factory in the area was also closed down.

According to a report, a tea plant remains productive for well over 80-100 years. If managed properly, tea is a highly remunerative crop and no major cash crop can compete with it in net-return per unit area.

Published in Dawn, Business & Finance weekly, July 25th, 2016