Rajasthan to launch olive tea next month

New Delhi, July 14: The Rajasthan government is planning to launch olive tea in August this year, said a minister here on Friday. The green tea produced using leaves of the olive tree will be helpful for heart patients and also help farmers get additional income, said Prabhu Lal Saini, Agriculture Minister of Rajasthan.

Around 5,000 acres of land in Rajasthan has been cultivated with olives with the main purpose of producing oil.

"We have set up a refinery in Lunkaransar in Bikaner and processing of leaves is going on. At present, olives are cultivated in Israel, Spain, Morocco, Brazil, and Italy. We have sought their assistance to develop olive green tea. We are planning to launch it in August," Saini told reporters here.

The Rajasthan government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a private company for marketing and selling of the olive tea.

"The company will have to share a part of profit with us," Saini said.

Between 2006-07, olive from Israel was introduced in the state for the first time.