Pakistan’s domestic Olive Oil Production is expected to reach 716 tons this year, according to a government survey seen by ProPakistani
The work to promote Olive trees and their products in Pakistan has been happening at some level since 1986, when the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council began working with the Italian government to introduce Olives in the country and develop best cultivation practices, and then in the early 2000s, researchers began working on Wild Olive species to turn them into fruit-bearing varieties.
The five-year project following the debt swap agreement with Italy in 2006 to bundle olive cultivation with economic development of rural areas was moved under PARC after devolution of PODB and was completed in 2012, and later years saw multiple projects to scale the commercial cultivation of Olives in Pakistan.
From Research to 7.6 Million Olive Plants
These include everything from importing, distributing, and planting millions of saplings to oil extraction equipment, both under government research institutions like the Center of Excellence for Olive Research & Training (CEFORT) and supporting private companies as well. Government has even distributed millions of saplings for free and offered an upward of 67% subsidy on plants and drip irrigation systems.
The policy targets expanding Pakistan’s total cultivated olive area to 100,000 acres and tree population to 10 million by 2030.
Ongoing projects fall under the National Olive Value Chain Policy 2024-2030, under which the Government has established the Pakistan Olive and Olive Oil Council (POOC) under the Pakistan Oilseed Board to bring together farmers, processors, and the government, and has also launched the national certification trademark ‘PakOlive’, with only Olive oils that follow the strict regulations and quality checks allowed to carry this label.
A government survey notes that 7.64 million olive plants have been planted across 60,456 acres in 131 districts nationwide. Balochistan accounts for the largest share, with 3.20 million plants (41.9%) spread across 24,620 acres in 31 districts.
Punjab follows with 2.24 million plants (29.3%) across 17,000 acres in 31 districts, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 1.66 million plants (21.7%) across 14,690 acres in 32 districts.
The survey also records 205,929 plants in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 117,958 in Islamabad Capital Territory, 92,296 in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 129,384 in Sindh.
As a result, the national Olive Oil production that began at 19 kg in 2016 has grown to nearly 716 tons in 2026, with Olive fruit production estimated at 7,412 tons according to the government survey seen by ProPakistani.
These numbers are still very small if we look at them from an import perspective or in comparison to the vast Olive Oil or Edible Oil market, for that matter, but for an industry that didn’t even exist before, this is substantial.
Exports Grow 27-Fold
Olive oil exports have also shown robust growth over the last few years, growing from mere 9 tons in 2020 to 249 tons in 2025, a 27-fold volume growth in just five years, while imports have dropped 33 percent in volume from the 2021 peak of 4,479 tons to 2996 tons in 2025.
The government survey estimates that Pakistan has approximately 4 million hectares of land with olive-growing potential, alongside millions of wild olive plants. Unlike traditional oilseed crops that compete for prime arable land and high water resources, olives thrive in diverse agro-ecological zones, particularly on rain-fed (barani), marginal, and degraded lands, so that’s where the government has been focusing.
The survey also reports the installation of 51 olive oil extraction units across the country. Balochistan has 23 units, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 16, Punjab with nine, Islamabad with two, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir with one (2.0%).
The supporting infrastructure listed in the survey includes three value-addition laboratories, six fruit-processing units, five weather stations, nursery tunnels and a national reference laboratory.
Together, these facilities indicate that the government’s olive development program extends beyond plantation to include research, nursery development, processing and quality support
During a recent media briefing for the PAC Agri Connections 2026 event, ProPakistani learned that Italian delegates who visited Pakistan recently considered Pakistani olive oil from the Balochistan region to be of international quality.
ProPakistani also learned that while 100 kg of harvested olives can yield around 12 to 14 kg of olive oil in different parts of the world, olives from Balochistan are reportedly yielding around 18 kg of oil per 100 kg of fruit.
Combined with the positive feedback on its quality, this suggests that Pakistan’s olive oil industry has the potential to compete with established producers.
The olive market extends far beyond cooking oil and table olives, encompassing a diverse array of value-added derivatives such as olive-based personal care products (soaps, lotions, and skin care), olive spreads and tapenades, health supplements, olive leaf tea, and industrial pomace by-products like secondary frying oil, biomass fuel pellets, and animal feed.
However, according to the Pakistan Olives Market Study, which we will talk more about at the end, traditional food items continue to command the vast majority of consumer demand.
In consumer surveys, olive oil captures the largest share at 50% to 56% of regular consumption, followed by table olives at 32% to 39%, while olive-based care products make up the remaining 11% to 12% (for imported retail sales specifically, olive oil accounts for 68%, table olives 30%, and olive spreads/care items 2%
But one wonders why they have not seen Pakistan Olive Oil on the shelves near them. The problem is that economies of scale, local distribution, and the value chain are still in their very early stages.
“The primary bottleneck is branding, packaging, and marketing because most of our farmers are not equipped in that area, and there is no corporate involvement for now.
Production numbers are still modest, but they are growing, and Olive Oil is the future of Pakistan”, said Awais Khan, CEO National Alliance for Safe Food, talking to ProPakistani.
Awais added that the government has an overarching plan to promote self-sufficiency in edible oils and reduce dependence on imports, including sesame and other oilseeds.
Challenges Remain
The biggest challenge to the growth remains the massive capital investment and long payback period.
According to the government’s own policy documents, Oive trees do not yield fruit or generate financial returns during their first 4 years, while the extended break-even horizon stretches to nearly 10 years.
Also, government policy interventions have been focusing on regions with marginal and under-utilized land, but access to agricultural extension and technical guidance in such areas remains limited.
State-backed initiatives (such as federal PSDP projects) historically operate under fixed 5-year project lifespans, which means when project windows expire, support and momentum can diminish before planted groves reach full commercial fruition.
A 2023 Market Study of the Domestic Olive Oil Market done under the Growth for Rural Advancement and Sustainable Progress (GRASP) project noted that 74% of the consumers preferred imported olive oils while a mere 26% favor locally produced options, and that 3 out of every 4 products in retail are internationally sourced.
According to the study, Olive oil constitutes only 0.3% of the country’s edible Oil imports, as there’s a common myth that it’s not good for high-temperature cooking, while its higher cost compared to alternatives also limits its use.
Report noted that the challenges to local consumption are also compounded by the absence of quality testing facilities, a lack of coherent pricing, which often makes local products more expensive than imported ones, little or no participation from commercial players for value addition, limited use of appropriate harvesting tools, inadequate oil extraction infrastructure and improper packaging.
Price sensitivity also remained a challenge, with 73 % of consumers considering it very important, while the importance of branding can be understood from the fact that 71% attributed brand reputation as very important.
While things look promising for now, in addition to the above challenges, there is one more thing worth acknowledging.
The largest share of Pakistan’s olive plantations is concentrated in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where the security situation remains murky at best and as we have learnt, Olive Oil infrastructure investment has long payback period. How this affects the expansion and long-term sustainability of the sector remains to be seen.
For now, the numbers are encouraging; building a commercially viable industry will require sustained investment, a functioning value chain, and the ability to keep these projects going long enough to deliver on their promise.
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