Around 3,000 new jobs are expected to be created as the fast growing olive oil industry of Pakistan proceeds to attract major Chinese investments through large-scale joint ventures focused on expansion in production and exports.
Shaukat Rasool, founder of the international award-winning brand Loralai Olives, said his company is in the advanced stages of talks with Chinese firms to sign memoranda of understanding for three corporate olive estates spread over an area of 3,000 acres.
The proposed projects require an estimated investment of $20 million, will produce $18-20 million per year of olive oil in six to seven years.
Speaking in the aftermath of the Pak-China Agri Investment Conference, Rasool identified China, as a natural partner, as a country with a heavy need to import olive oil, valued at more than $300 million a year, China also has a growing health-conscious middle class.
“Olive oil is medicine for a healthy life,” he said, and Pakistan is in a good position to meet the rising Chinese demand.
He said that Pakistan has obvious commercial benefits such as lower cost of land and better logistics under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Loralai Olives already imports its packaging and bottling materials from China and future cooperation could extend to extraction machinery and processing plants.
Pakistan’s olive oil has obtained recognition in the international world as Loralai Olives won a silver award at the New York International Olive Oil Competition by competing with over 1200 brands from around the world.
While exports are still limited to mostly Gulf markets, there is an increase in domestic demand, as domestic consumers move towards local brands. Pakistan is currently importing more than $12 million worth of olive oil every year.
With more than 80 olive-related startups emerging in the industry in farming and processing and growing in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and Sindh, the industry is positioning itself as a new pillar of Pakistan-China economic cooperation.
Also read: 800,000 jobs for Pakistanis in Gulf? What you need to know
