Hazara’s olive oil boom lays a roadmap for the Pakistani sector

The northwestern Pakistani district of Hazara has become a proving ground for the national olive oil sector. Officials and producers are encouraged by early results, believing the region has provided a roadmap for the rest of Pakistan and opened the door to large-scale exports. “Hundreds of farmers are attracted to grafting olives on a local breed named Kaho,” said Basharat Hussain Shah, the National Tea and High-Value Crops Research Institute (NTHRI) senior director. “Within two to three years of planting, the trees have started yielding, with the yield increasing each year,” he added. ​“Over 1,000 hectares of land in Hazara are dedicated to olive trees, and this area is growing annually.” Sabir Sultan is one of the pioneers of olive growing in Hazara, planting the first olive trees of the Zaitoon Family Foundation in 2010. Over the past 14 years, Sultan has cultivated about 5,000 olive trees via graft, half of which have started producing fruit. “The climate of Hazara is very ...