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In its September 2020 Newsletter, the International Olive Council (IOC) provides overviews of various past and future meetings, including one focused on revising olive oil sensory analysis methods. The IOC also highlights its digital library of books available for free downloading and offers a synopsis of the global trade in olive oil and table olives.  

According to the newsletter, the IOC’s 112th session will take place via video conference from Madrid from November 23 to November 27. On World Olive Day, November 26, the session will include an online conference on The Future of the Olive Sector that will be open to the public.

The IOC held a number of online meetings recently, and more are planned. In one online session, more than 40 experts in organoleptic assessment discussed the revision of sensory analysis methods. They considered reference materials, statistics, revision of the Mario Solinas Quality Award profile sheet, the accreditation, education, and training of tasters, and plans for a workshop to harmonize IOC-approved tasting panels to minimize the differences between panels during tastings.

More than 1000 technical and scientific books have been downloaded at no charge from the IOC’s digital library since June, and they remain available for free downloading here. These books include a World Olive Encyclopedia, a World Catalog of Olive Varieties, Olive Oil Health Notes, and Mediterranean Olive Oil in the Cuisines of the World.

After meeting and library announcements, the IOC newsletter discusses table olive imports in the last six years and worldwide trade in olive oil and table olives for the 2019/20 crop year, plus olive oil producer prices at one point during the summer. According to the IOC, olive oil “[i]mports rose in Canada (25%); Brazil (19%); Russia (17%); China (17%); Australia (17%); the United States (12%); and Japan (8%),” presumably comparing October 2019 to June 2020 with the same period in the previous crop year.

On the other hand, from September to June table olive “[i]mports grew by 4% in both Canada and Brazil but fell by 13% in Australia and 9% in the United States compared to the same period the previous crop year.” Greece is one of the main suppliers of table olives to Australia (53%), Canada (21%), and the USA (20%).


All businesses, organizations, and competitions involved with Greek olive oil, the Mediterranean diet, and/or agrotourism or food tourism in Greece, as well as anyone else interested in supporting Greeks working in these sectors, are invited to consider the advertising and sponsorship opportunities on the Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil website. The only wide-ranging English-language site featuring news and information from the Greek olive oil world, it has reached readers in more than 200 countries around the globe.

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