Pakistan Tea
Cutting Chai: Pakistani Minister asks people to reduce tea consumption
Islamabad: A Pakistani minister has urged people to cut down their habit of consuming tea as the nation is battling a ballooning import bill draining forex reserves.
"I appeal to the nation to cut down the consumption of tea by 1-2 cups because we import tea on loan,"Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal was quoted as saying by The News International, making a case for people to adopt more austere measures.
The minister made the appeal as it emerged that the nation consumed tea worth Rs 83.88 billion in the fiscal year 2021-22.
Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves dropped from around USD 16bn in February to less than USD 10bn in the first week of June, barely enough to cover the cost of two months of all its imports, reports BBC.
Last month officials in Karachi even restricted the import of several non-essential luxury items as an attempt to protect funds.
The growing economic crisis in Pakistan is emerging as a major challenge for the PM Shehbaz Sharif-led government as he replaced Imran Khan as the Prime Minister following a parliamentary vote against him.
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