This newsletter discusses the growing worldwide production and consumption of table olives, which was noteworthy, for example, in Greece, which is also increasing table olive production this year by 31% compared to last year. It also mentioned the health benefits of olives and olive oil sales in the previous crop year. The newsletter concluded with an overview of olive oil producer price trends in the main producing countries through the end of December, with prices stable in Spain, falling in Italy and Tunisia, and falling, then stable, in Greece.
As Olive Oil Times reports, "Greece seeks to analyze the genome of olives to safekeep its cultivars and make better products."
An overview of a very funny series of Greek-language videos about strong rivalries among olive oil producers in different parts of Greece, poking fun at regional stereotypes while emphasizing each area's pride in its own olive oil and great care to produce an excellent product. The videos are here, but there are not yet any English captions.
Research under way in Crete, Greece and with various partners around the world seeks to collect samples to save in order to preserve genetic variety, "to increase sustainability and olive oil quality...and to face existing and new problems," including those related to climate change.
Coming to Greek restaurant tables in the new year: sealed bottles of high quality Greek olive oil!
Data adopted at the 106th session of the International Olive Council (Madrid ,Spain), 21-24 November 2017, on olive oil production, imports, consumption, and exports for the crop years from 2015/16 to 2017/18, the latter an estimate.
In its Market Newsletter for November 2017, the International Olive Council discussed world olive oil production figures for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 crop years, with Greece's 195,000 metric tons in 2nd place behind Spain worldwide in the earlier period. “The latest official national estimates” call for a 14% increase in world olive oil production for 2017/18, with Spain expected to produce 1,090,500 metric tons, Italy 320,000, and Greece 300,000. Notable increases in consumption were reported in Brazil, China, and Australia for 2016/17. World trade and producer prices are also covered in the newsletter; producer prices have fallen in all the major producing countries in recent weeks.
In September, the two Greek olive oil packers’ associations, SEVITEL and ESVITE, officially merged into one under SEVITEL, the Association of Greek Industries and Packers of Olive Oil, following a unanimous decision by the general assemblies of the members of both organizations.
"While Mykonos, Santorini, and the other small islands of the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea are famous to vacationers, they also make olive oil the locals are proud of."
This article actually says more about the state of the Greek olive oil market than the conference, and hence will be of general interest to Anglophones as well as Greeks.
In a pdf that provides an overview of production, consumption, import, and export of various edible oils, the United States Department of Agriculture predicts that worldwide production of olive oil for the 2017/18 harvest year will be 2.7 million metric tons, with Spain’s decreased production due to drought “likely to be offset by growth in other producers.”
A new contest in Greece sponsored by the Friends of Olive Oil (FILAIOS) focuses on innovation in the Greek olive oil world (not on olive oil quality, but on innovation at all stages, "from the fields to the shelves").
"Dry conditions over the last six months in Greece have created anxiety in the olive oil industry over yield this season. Producers are reporting, however, that their production might be better than expected."
Greeks hope the upcoming enforcement of a law requiring use of bottled and branded olive oil on restaurant tables will bring Greek extra virgin olive oil more of the recognition it deserves worldwide. This article mentions an Athens event that will discuss this, among other topics.
Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olive News (so far only in Greek) that olive oil prices seemed higher than last year in Greece as of October 23. However, the recent rains in Greece were generally beneficial for both olive oil quantity and quality. There is evidence, for example in Spain, that the market expects a gradual price decline. Spain's production, though, is expected to be a modest 1.1 to 1.15 million metric tons this harvest year, with some quality problems. Other Mediterranean countries, including Tunisia with 300,000 tons forecast, will have to compensate for Spain's shortfall.
This newsletter covers olive oil and table olive imports in Brazil, the October IOC Advisory Committee meeting, and world trade in olive oil and table olives, including producer prices in major exporting countries. Some highlights: In the first 11 months of the 2016/17 crop year, there was a noteworthy increase in olive oil and olive pomace oil imports in Brazil (21%) and China (13%), as well as a 20% increase in Australian imports through July. Imports slightly decreased in the USA and Canada. Producer prices have remained stable in Spain in recent weeks, around 19% higher than last year. Italian prices have been decreasing but remain 7% higher than last year. Prices have increased slightly in Greece, coming to 32% higher than last year, while Tunisian prices have been falling but are still 14% higher than last year. (Comparisons are all between the end of October in 2017 and 2016.)
This is Isabel Putinja's interesting, concise summary of a 12-page European Parliament report (available in full here) focused on the European Union olive and olive oil sector, including a number of statistics, for example about how much is produced, imported, and exported where.
This newsletter provides provisional data for olive oil production in the 2016/17 crop year, according to the IOC Statistics Working Group, which expected total worldwide production of 2,538,000 metric tons, or a 20% decrease compared to the preceding crop year. For example, production was expected to come to 1,283,600 tons in Spain (-8.5%), 195,000 in Greece (39%), 182,300 in Italy (-62%), 177,000 in Turkey (+24%), 110,000 in Morocco (-15%), and 100,000 in Tunisia (-29%). Country data and IOC Executive Secretariat estimates for 2017/18 worldwide production called for 2,854,000 metric tons, or 12% more than the previous year, although the report indicates that more solid estimates will come at the end of November. Spain was expecting 1,150,000 metric tons of olive oil (-10%), Italy 320,000 (+75%), Greece 300,000 (+54%), Tunisia 220,000 (+120%), Turkey 180,000 (+2%), Morocco 120,000 (+9%), and Portugal 110,000 (+58%). The newsletter also provides table olive production estimates for the 2017/18 crop year and reports on world trade in olive oil and table olives and producer prices.
Vassilis Zampounis's latest estimates for olive oil production in the major olive oil producing countries in the upcoming crop year, from his online Olive News publication.
In this article in Olive News, Vassilis Zampounis provides the latest predictions for the upcoming crop year's olive oil production in Greece. Most areas in Greece expect an increase in production compared to the 2016/17 crop year.