Faced with soaring inflation, Pakistan tells people to drink less tea

Inflation is high around the world, including in Pakistan. The South Asian country has been facing serious economic difficulties for months, which has led to a rise in the prices of food, gas and oil. Faced with the scale of the crisis, the Pakistani government is urging citizens... to drink less tea.

This surprising announcement was made on June 14 by Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, who urged citizens of the country to reduce their tea consumption by "one or two cups" a day in order to limit the country's imports. "The tea we import is imported by taking a loan," he argued at a press conference followed by CNN.

And the numbers appear to support his suggestion. Pakistan is the world's biggest importer of tea, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC). It spent more than $640 million on the humble beverage in 2020 -- that's six times more than France during the same period.

However, the economic and political crisis that the South Asian country is going through is pushing Islamabad to envisage drastic measures. Already weakened by Covid-19, Pakistan is experiencing record debt and inflation, as well as a fall in its currency against the dollar. In addition, there are threats of a popular uprising by former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was ousted from his post on April 10 after a vote of no confidence by members of parliament.

Reverting to a five-day work week

Faced with the severity of the country's economic situation, the new Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif, has resolved to pursue a policy of austerity. He has already announced that Pakistani government employees will return to a five-day work week as part of his energy conservation plan (after having implemented a six-day work week for the public sector following his election).

Information Minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb says the radical move would save $386 million a year, reports the local newspaper Dawn. Pakistani officials will also be expected to limit their foreign travel as much as possible.

The call to reduce tea consumption is part of the austerity measures being taken by the Shehbaz Sharif government to curb the crisis. But it is far from being unanimously supported by the Pakistani people. According to CNN, many have mocked Ahsan Iqbal's plea on social networks, saying that drinking less tea would do nothing to help the country out of the crisis.