A cabinet minister of the newly elected government is under strong criticism from the public for making a plea to the nation to drink less tea in order to help overcome the foreign exchange glut amid a deepening economic crisis.
According to AFP, the latest government figures show Pakistan pays over $515 million a year to bring in tea, mostly from Kenya.
“I appeal to the people to reduce their tea-drinking by one or two cups a day because we also borrow money for the tea, which is imported,” federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal said while talking at a press conference on Tuesday.
Tea is a hugely popular drink among both the rich and the poor in Pakistan, a country of 220 million people, eventually making it among the world’s top tea importers.
Pakistan previously saw tea imports rise to $423.466 million in July-February (2021-22). ). In the same period of the previous fiscal, the figure was $379.314 million, APP news agency quoted the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) as reported earlier this year.
Ahsan Iqbal’s message thus did not go down well with most Pakistanis, who drink tea in many forms — black, green, hot, cold, sweet, salted, and spiced.
“The government has increased its expenditure. They travel in big cars with protocol but we only enjoy tea,” said Muhammad.
“Why should we reduce the use of tea… we drink at our own expense, we don’t drink with government money,” said Jan Mohammad, 45, a truck driver who says he drinks between 15 to 20 cups a day.
“How will we reduce the use of tea when tea is the main drink in all the official meetings?” asked a university professor while noting that tea was routinely served at almost every meeting — especially those held by government officials.