Chakwal, [11th March, 2025]: The Pakistan Horticulture Development and Export Company (PHDEC), in collaboration with CEFORT (Chakwal), successfully organized an Interactive Session for Olive Growers. The event provided a platform for olive growers to engage directly with industry experts, gaining valuable insights and guidance on olive cultivation, orchard management, and value addition.
Olive cultivation in Pakistan, which began modestly in 1991 with a few hundred plants, has now flourished into a thriving industry. Today, the country boasts approximately 51,000 acres of olive orchards with around 6.3 million plants. With 10 million acres of land identified as suitable for olive cultivation—nearly twice the area of Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer—Pakistan holds immense potential to become a global leader in olive production. Currently, the country produces 861 tons of table olives annually, all of which are consumed domestically. To reduce reliance on imports and enhance self-sufficiency, Pakistan has set an ambitious target of producing 4,600 tons of olive oil by 2030. Key regions for olive cultivation include Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Punjab, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB).
Recognizing the transformative potential of olive cultivation and the challenges faced by growers, PHDEC organized this interactive session to bridge the gap between experts and stakeholders. The session aimed to address real-time issues, share advanced production technologies, and provide practical solutions to enhance orchard management practices. Experts from CEFORT delivered in-depth presentations on modern olive cultivation techniques, helping growers optimize their yields and improve product quality.
During the session, participants expressed keen interest in learning about export procedures for olive oil and value-added products. In response, PHDEC announced plans to organize future webinars and workshops focusing on export regulations, branding, certification, and market access to empower stakeholders and boost Pakistan’s presence in the global olive market.
The event saw enthusiastic participation from a diverse audience, including olive growers, processors, exporters, researchers, and academics, who lauded PHDEC’s initiative for fostering knowledge-sharing and collaboration in the olive sector.
