By Azeem Ahmed Khan

Pakistan has planted 7.637 million olive trees across 60,456 acres in 131 districts, reflecting the country’s growing push to develop olive cultivation on a commercial scale, according to documents of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research available with Wealth Pakistan.

The data show that olive cultivation has expanded across all major regions, with Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounting for the largest plantation base. The ministry’s presentation titled “Developing Olive Sector of Pakistan” lists a total of 7,637,421 olive plants across 60,456 acres, spread across 131 districts.

Balochistan leads the national olive plantation drive with 3,199,393 plants over 24,620 acres in 31 districts. The province’s plantation base is the largest in the country, underlining its central role in Pakistan’s commercial olive development.

Punjab ranks second with 2,235,962 olive plants over 17,000 acres across 31 districts. The data show that multiple initiatives, including PIDSA, PSDP, Olive Valley and private plantations, have supported Punjab’s plantation drive.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest olive-growing region, with 1,656,499 plants over 14,690 acres in 32 districts. The region’s plantation base has been supported by PIDSA, PSDP, the 5 Million Olive initiative and private plantations.

Smaller but important plantation bases have also been developed in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Sindh, Islamabad Capital Territory and Gilgit-Baltistan. The data show 205,929 plants over 1,542 acres in AJK, 129,384 plants over 939 acres in Sindh, 117,958 plants over 976 acres in ICT and 92,296 plants over 690 acres in Gilgit-Baltistan.

The ministry’s plantation data show that the PSDP programme made the largest contribution, accounting for 5,029,010 plants over 37,854 acres. Other contributions include 580,158 plants under PIDSA, 1,320,116 plants under Olive Valley, 590,000 plants under the 5 Million Olive initiative, 80,637 plants under Olives Expansion and 37,500 plants under private plantations.

The documents also identify Pakistan’s olive potential area at approximately four million hectares, as well as the availability of millions of wild olive plants. This indicates that the existing plantation base is still in its early stages relative to the country’s broader olive-growing potential.

The expansion of olive plantations across provinces and regions shows that Pakistan is building a broader foundation for commercial olive cultivation. With Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa leading the plantation drive, the sector can support rural development, commercial farming and value-chain growth if plantation is backed by processing, certification and market development. 

Credit: INP-WealthPk