News

"Olive oil consumption in Italy and Greece — two of the world’s largest producers — is expected to rise in the current crop year, according to data from the International Olive Council (IOC)."

Recent research in Greece shows that the expected effects of climate change should concern olive producers in the northeastern area of Chalkidiki.

According to Costas Vasilopoulos, "the European Commission has approved Greece’s national strategic plan, which aligns with the latest revision of the E.U.’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)."

"Daytime temperatures remain around 20°C in many olive oil-producing areas of the country, undermining the quality of fresh EVOOs."

Worldwide data on olive oil production for the 2022/23 crop year, as forecast by the International Olive Council for major producing countries.

This year, many olive oil producers in Greece are more hopeful than those in Italy and Spain.

"The fruit fly threatens expectations of a bumper crop. Experts suggest a change in established practices of fighting the pest."

Important news for olive oil bottlers about new European regulations.

As the article says, "Konstantinos Mitsotakis, the Greek prime minister, has pledged to restore the Amfissa olive grove, one of several agricultural territories of the country that suffered extensive damages from wildfires in the summer."

"All of Europe’s main producing countries, with the exception of Greece, are expecting significant production drops. However, some believe the forecast is too pessimistic."

"Contrary to other main European producers, Greece expects a substantial increase in its harvest yield. However, significant challenges could hamper the final tally."

"Optimism is expressed that the prices will continue to be satisfactory so that finally all the available olive oils will be sold in a high average price (moyenne) during the whole crop year."

A consideration of the role Greek olive oil plays in the Italian olive oil sector.

This article includes a very interesting video with scenes from an olive oil tasting lab, olive groves at harvest time, and a modern olive mill, as well as comments from several Cretans who work with olive oil. (Click on the CC button for English captions if you don't understand the Greek.)

Paolo DeAndreis summarizes some key points from an EU agricultural outlook report, pointing out, "Growing demand from households and the recovery of the foodservice sector are the main drivers increasing olive oil sales in the E.U."

"Local producers prefer to export their product in bulk to Italy without standardizing it."

"More than 130,000 olive saplings have been donated to farmers in the area surrounding Ancient Olympia in the northwest Peloponnese, replacing some of the hundreds of thousands that burned in last summer’s devastating wildfires."

"According to initial estimates, 30,000 to 40,000 trees were destroyed in fires that swept through some of the oldest olive groves in Greece."

"The Hellenic Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness, a non-profit initiative aimed at promoting Greek culture with a focus on the plant-based Mediterranean Diet, one of the world’s healthiest eating plans, was launched" on Crete in May.

"The 2021/22 crop year required a swift harvest and milling due to unusually high temperatures. The coming crop year is shaping up to be better."

Daniel Dawson reports on the USDA's forecasts for global olive oil production, consumption, and trade in the next crop year.

"Despite the war in Ukraine, olive oil prices are expected to remain steady. E.U.production and consumption will rise. Exports will fall."

Given the high price of sunflower oil due to the war in Ukraine, "Officials and olive oil professionals on the island want to encourage food entrepreneurs to use locally-produced olive oil in taverns, restaurants and hotels."

A report on Greek olive oil production this crop year, and on predictions for next year. "Olive oil of high quality, medium quantity and average prices with increased production costs amid adverse weather were the main characteristics of the harvesting season in Greece."

"Sparta Gourmet’s high-tech mill is at the heart of a renewed local effort to produce high-quality olive oil" using a "sustainable and environmentally friendly" approach near Sparta, Peloponnese.

"The Greek extra virgin olive oils were registered with an international organization that protects the product from imitation and counterfeiters in 56 countries."

An international nonprofit group is leading a fundraising campaign that aims to help replant olive trees after major fires destroyed olive groves in Ancient Olympia last summer. To find out how you can help, see https://olympia-trees.com/.

Costas Vasilopoulos describes the results of this year's olive harvest in Greece, which vary from one place to another. In many areas, quality seems much better than quantity this year.

"Greeks are among the top per capita consumers of olive oil in the world but have cut back on the highest grade." Based on an article about a 2020 survey in Greece, this report discusses various opinions, practices, and levels of knowledge about olive oil.

"Intensive groves will outnumber traditional farms thirty years from now, and the number of olive oil-producing countries will rise to 80, says Juan Vilar."

"Local producers have joined forces with scientists In Chania, Crete, to identify, analyze and transfer the DNA identity of olive oil from the field to the bottle, achieving authenticity and traceability for their local products."

"Commentaries by five members of the Scientific Society of Olive Encyclopaedists (4E) on civilization, health and Covid-19, climate change, the value of olive growing, olive policy."

"Many producing regions, especially in the western part of the country, were hit with a deluge that some farmers say is becoming more common." However, the situation varies in different parts of the country.

"Greek olive oil production will be off 20 percent from last year's yield, early estimates say."

The total picture in the Greek olive sector is not yet clear, although "[t]he ongoing drought has led to wildfires burning around the country, damaging olive trees, and further diminishing the prospects of the 2021 harvest."

"The progress in the Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Europe is positively affecting the recovery of the agricultural sector, according to the European Commission in its latest short-term outlook for agricultural markets."

"Greece has made an official request to the Council of the European Union to receive financial aid for oil olive oil and table olive producers hit by the extreme weather conditions that prevailed in parts of the country during the last six months."

"Despite the vast majority of the world struggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, global olive oil consumption did not falter, according to the latest report from the International Olive Council (IOC)."

"Greece will receive €19.3 billion under the new scheme, an amount similar to the funds provided by the CAP currently in operation."

The International Olive Council reports on olive oil production and consumption this crop year.

The International Olive Council is studying olive oil consumption trends worldwide.

The Greek olive oil sector must get much better at promoting the national product, or it will continue to fall farther behind competing countries.

With 12 major awards at the Anatolian International Olive Oil Competition 2021 in Turkey, Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms has won more than 300 awards, a record for a Greek single estate olive producer.

"The insufficient promotion of Greek olive oil abroad, combined with the absence of a comprehensive policy to contain the cost of exports to far-flung countries like Canada, have resulted in a drop in Greece’s olive oil exports to the world’s second largest country."

"Increasing production paired with rising vegetable oil prices is also expected to yield record exports and olive oil consumption levels."

"Producers can save money and be more sustainable by shipping olive mill wastewater to local biogas production plants." This article discusses the current advantages and limitations of this plan in Greece.

Snapshots from the Greek olive oil sector: selected views, as presented by Costas Vasilopoulos.

Compiled by Costas Vasilopoulos, these snapshots from different parts of Greece suggest varying results from the Greek olive harvest, with quality often better than quantity.

Predictions for EU olive oil production, consumption, and exports in the next ten years are on page 42 (or 46) of this document, depending on which numbers you look at.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) November 2020 newsletter includes news about the IOC’s meetings, a seminar, a course, table olive imports, world trade in olive oil and table olives, olive oil producer prices in late October (higher than last year for Spain, lower for Italy and Greece), and UNESCO’s designation of November 26 as World Olive Day internationally “to protect the olive tree and promote the values of peace, wisdom and harmony that it symbolises.”

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) October 2020 newsletter includes news about the IOC’s meetings and projects, and about increases in olive oil imports, world trade in olive oil and table olives, and producer prices in September (lower than last year in the top four producing countries).

This pessimistic article states, "A newly-imposed lockdown has brought Greece to a standstill and created a logistical nightmare for olive growers. Some health experts believe the start of the harvest is partly responsible for the spread of the virus." As Greek Liquid Gold's article on the same subject suggests, not everyone in the olive oil industry has such a negative view of the situation.

According to Olive Oil Times, "Early seasonal prices have reached €3.80 per kilo while the lack of foreign workers has prevented some harvesting activities in Greece."

"Worldwide olive oil production will be somewhat lower than consumption in the 2020 season."

The International Olive Council provides statistics about olive oil prices in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal over the past decade.

"The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and persistently low olive oil prices remain the biggest worries for producers."

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) July 2020 newsletter includes news about the IOC’s meetings, decisions, job openings, and PhD fellowship, ending with an overview of worldwide trade in olive oil and table olives. It includes a link to a document describing the procedures for organoleptic panels to follow during a pandemic.

New PDO and PGI designations from the European Union recognize this unique extra virgin olive oil's distinctive characteristics and specific origin in Thrace, northeastern Greece.

An interesting, at times surprising, data source on worldwide olive oil production, consumption, imports, and exports from Olive Oil Times. Users can select specific countries for information about them.

This European Commission publication includes points about olive oil on pages 5 and 21-22. For example: "Olive oil prices remain under pressure despite positive price signals after the activation of private storage aid, an overall EU consumption that could grow by 6%, and dynamic trade to all main export destinations. The 2020/21 EU production could be around 2.3 million t, thanks to good weather conditions in the spring in Spain that would compensate the impact of heat waves in Greece and a lack of rain in certain Italian producing regions."

Olive oil is one of the exceptions; its exports increased both in May and in the first five months of 2020.

Once again, as Paolo DeAndreis writes, "The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is reviewing existing tariffs and considering whether or not to impose new ones on goods imported from the European Union."

There seems to be some concern in Greece about a new proposal for olive oil standards in the US. As a different article by Vassilis Zampounis (in Greek) points out, a new rule about the level of free fatty acids (among other things) could ignore other important factors that help determine olive oil quality.

Data from the European Commission, focused on Europe and its partners.

As Costas Vasilopoulos wrote for Olive Oil Times, "A heatwave during the critical flowering stage was enough to raise concerns among growers for their expected yields."

Very early expectations for worldwide olive oil production and consumption in the upcoming harvest year.

The International Olive Council has published estimates for olive oil production in the current crop year.

The International Olive Council has published provisional data for the previous (2018/19) crop year.

The EU's predictions for olive oil in the coming decade (the Olive Oil Times report).

"A sudden outburst of the fruit fly and other pathogens inflicted unexpected damage on the island's farms."

"With its world-class olive oil winning kudos and awards in contests and a country whose very symbol is the olive tree, Greek producers and governments have let the international market slip away to countries and lesser brands."

The begins by mentioning that 13 former Chairs and Vice-Chairs of the IOC Advisory Committee were formally recognized by the IOC “for their commitment to the olive sector and the role they played in the Advisory Committee.” These included Panayiotis Karantonis, Andreas Plemmenos, and Loukas Kollias from Greece. The newsletter then discusses imports of olive oil into Australia, where Greece is the 3rd largest supplier, after Spain and Italy. For table olive imports into Australia, Greece is by far the largest supplier “with 60.2% of the imported volume.” Next, the newsletter goes over the worldwide olive oil and table olive trade, noting that between October 2018 and July 2019 olive oil imports increased in Japan (23%); Russia (14%); Brazil (13%); China (12%); the US (9%); Australia (3%); and Canada (1%) compared to the same period the previous year. Extra virgin olive oil prices in the summer were lower than the previous year in Spain (20%) and Tunisia (18%), but similar to the previous year in Italy and Greece, with Italy bringing in by far the highest price and Spain the lowest.

An in-depth, informative article based on an interview with an international expert. It includes worldwide production estimates for the 2019/20 crop year.

"With U.S. tariffs on some Spanish olive oil imports coming into force, Greek producers should have an advantage over Spain. However, the nation has not been able to profit from exporting its olive oil" much in the past.

"Recently imposed tariffs on some Spanish olive oil exports to the United States could help Greek producers and exporters increase their presence in the lucrative U.S. olive oil market."

The newsletter begins with an overview of IOC meetings and workshops planned for October, including one finalizing a collaboration between the IOC and the University of Jaen. A noteworthy result of that collaboration: “The IOC expert course on the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils will now be taught in English as well as Spanish.” A section on Canada shows that imports of olive oil--especially virgin—and olives have increased considerably since 2005, with about 5% of world imports of each going into Canada (a bit less for olives, but Greece is the second most important table olive supplier for Canada). Surveying the world trade in olive oil and table olives, the newsletter notes increased imports from October 2018 to June 2019 (compared to the same period in the previous year) in Japan (22%); Brazil (14%); Russia (13%); China (10%); the US (9%); and Australia (7%), with a decrease only in Canada, and only by 1%. Producer prices for olive oil were down (compared to the previous year) in the main producing countries in the summer, except for a 17% rise in Italy.

"The world’s third biggest producer is not generating the export earnings that it should." An unusually well-considered, in-depth, but not very encouraging discussion of the state of the Greek olive oil sector today.

Many Greeks expect a good olive harvest this year.

Sad news for Spanish olive and olive oil producers and exporters--although the tariff could have been higher--but good news for Greeks and other Europeans, whose olive oil is not affected.

In a usefully detailed discussion on Olivenews.gr, Vassilis Zampounis writes about expectations for the coming crop year's Greek olive oil production. "While the initial estimations were at 300 thousand tons, we are now looking at 240" thousand metric tons of olive oil from Greece this year. However, he adds a crucial point: "What should be emphasized though, is the spectacular improvement in quality compared to 2018/19." (The question about price increases should not alarm consumers, as it refers to currently very low Greek producer prices more than the cost in stores.)

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for August begins with an overview of the world trade in olive oil and table olives for October 2018 to January 2019. It notes increased olive oil imports in Japan (23%); China (15%); Brazil (14%); Australia (13%); Russia (12%); the USA (8%) and Canada (4%) compared to a year earlier, and increased table olive imports in four major importing countries from September through May. The newsletter also discusses producer prices during the summer in four major olive oil producing countries, with 18% decreases for extra virgin olive oil in Spain and Tunisia compared to the same time last year, a 4% drop in Greece, and a 17% increase in Italy, where prices are by far the highest.

The North American Olive Oil Association's report on an appeal to the United States Trade Representative by 19 American Congresspeople who urged that olive oil be removed from a list of products that could be subject to US tariffs on European imports.

Daniel Dawson writes that the Culinary Institute of America and International Olive Council "believe that increasing olive oil consumption is a complementary goal to promoting a shift toward plant-forward cooking," which could help fight climate change.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for July mentions a seminar in Marrakech, Morocco, the IOC’s participation in the 42nd session of the Codex Alimentarius in Geneva, Switzerland, and the presentation of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards in New York. It includes an overview of the IOC’s collaboration with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) to present “The New Olive Oil Kitchen” in New York City in June. Part of the IOC’s promotion campaign in the USA, this featured a discussion of “‘Olive Oil and the Plant-Forward Kitchen,’ which presents olive oil as a key component of the Mediterranean diet that can provide inspiration for contemporary American cooking” as well as being important in a healthy, sustainable cooking trend elsewhere. The newsletter also describes a seminar the IOC co-organized entitled “Olive-Oil Supplemented Diet: Impacts on Cancer, Diabetes and Cardiovascular Health.” It then discusses the world’s major importer of olive oil, the USA. It concludes with a summary of major points about world trade in olive oil and table olives in the 2018/19 crop year, including increased olive oil imports in Japan (25%), Australia (16%), Russia (16%), Brazil (15%), China (12%), and the US (9%), and olive oil producer prices in June, which were 40% higher in Italy, 19% lower in Spain, 18% lower in Tunisia, and the same in Greece, compared with the previous year.

"Researchers from the Department of Pharmacognosy of Athens University in Greece, have managed to detect and isolate a constituent of extra virgin olive oil that could act against high blood pressure."

"Researchers from Swinburne University received funding to continue investigating the links found between adhering to the Mediterranean diet and a reduced risk of dementia."

Assuming it is ratified, this agreement could make a difference for European olive oil exports to four Latin American countries.

The European program Interreg Med Aristoil was "selected as the best program in its category for 2019 among dozens of interregional European programs." As the article says, "the aim of the ARISTOIL program is to increase the economic value of olive oil through demonstration and certification of its health protective properties and directly concerns more than 3000 olive growers participating in the program."

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for June opens with an overview of the 109th session of the council of members, which took place in Morocco, the focus of the newsletter’s next article and of the 125th edition of the IOC’s Olivae magazine. The newsletter discusses the IOC’s seminar on the future of the olive sector, an expert meeting on possible contaminant residues in olive oils and olive-pomace oils, and the imports of olives and olive oil in Brazil (where olive oil imports from Greece have increased considerably). Concluding with a look at the world trade in olive oil and table olives, the newsletter mentions that data on olive oil and olive pomace oil imports from October 2018 to March 2019 “show an increase of 19% in Japan; 18% in Australia; 16% in Russia; 13% in Brazil; 11% in the United States; 6% in China; and 2% in Canada.” Extra virgin olive oil producer prices at the end of May were down 12% in Spain and 18% in Tunisia compared to last year, but up 4% in Greece and 49% in Italy.

And now in English: very early estimates for the 2019/20 crop year's olive oil production worldwide, and in the major producing countries.

As Helen Skopis writes for Greek Reporter, there is concern in Greece about the possibility that US tariffs could be imposed on European olive oil, but also hope that this will not occur. Note the link (at the end) to a petition which urges avoidance of what the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA)'s executive director, Joseph Profaci, says would amount to a tax on the health of Americans.

A brief overview of a recent important meeting in the Greek olive oil world, from Olivenews.gr.

The International Olive Council Market Newsletter for May 2019 opens with a focus on Egypt (the world’s leading consumer and 2nd producer of table olives) and news from the latest meeting (in Cairo) of the IOC Advisory Committee. News from Egypt comes with information about table olive consumption and production worldwide. The newsletter goes on to discuss a course on table olives in Egypt, a conference and meetings in Peru, and visits to the IOC from a Chinese delegation and the Olive Oil Sommelier Association of Japan. There is an overview of trade in olive oil and table olives in eight markets from October to February 2019, showing increased olive oil imports in Australia (21%), Japan (19%), Russia (19%), the USA (17%), Brazil (15%), and Canada (7%), with imports falling only in China (4%) compared to last year. There were more modest increases in imports of table olives in four countries. The newsletter concludes with a look at producer prices for olive oil in the major producing countries. Prices fell in Spain (21%), Tunisia (18%), and Greece (10%) compared to last year but continued their climb in Italy, where they are 48% higher than last year.

"The certification process for 14 varieties of olive is underway at the state-run Olive Tree Institute of ELGO Demetra based in Chania, a development that Greek Nurseries are watching with great interest but also caution as it could satisfy their long-standing demand for certified propagating material."

"Estimates of this year’s olive oil production by key stakeholders offer contrasting pictures of the quantities of extra virgin olive oil that may be available on the Greek market for this season."

Sakellaropoulos Organic Farming recently won its 100th award for its organic products, including its olive oil. "It is the only Greek business which has managed to win such a large number of prizes and awards in an array of worldwide shows and competitions."

The International Olive Council’s Market Newsletter for April 2019 begins with a focus on the Mario Solinas Competition, which seems to have been largely a contest among Spanish, Portuguese, and Moroccan olive oils this year, with a handful of entries from ten other countries. The newsletter also discusses “a meeting on the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil at IOC headquarters in Madrid” concerning “recent updates on organoleptic assessment, sensory analysis panel harmonization and the classification of virgin olive oil.” It mentions plans to launch “a portal that gathers scientific information on the health benefits of olive oil and olive products,” the Olive Health Information System, or OHIS, “in the coming months.” It includes a market report that shows increases in olive oil imports in several key markets from October 2018 to January 2019: Australia (31%), Japan (18%), Russia (17%), Brazil (13%), and Canada (12%); Australia, Brazil, and Canada also increased imports of table olives. Some of the dates in the discussion of olive oil producer prices seem rather mixed up, so those interested may want to consult the graphs at the end of the newsletter.

"Olive oil was the largest Greek agri-food export last year and the fourth-largest export overall, according to a new report. Its success has renewed the call from farmers for government backing."

Interested for years in "the health benefits of phenolic compounds in olive oil, ... [Athan] Gadanidis had told Dr. Magiatis that they needed a human subject to test the benefits of olive oil in treating prostate cancer. Ironically, he would be that subject himself."

With olive oil production considerably decreased in Italy and Greece but increased in Spain and Portugal, this article offers food for thought about reasons and responses. It also notes that quality remains high in Greece and Italy.

The International Olive Council newsletter for March opens with a look at developments related to olive oil in Albania, Japan, China, and Poland. It continues with an Open Call for Experts “and laboratory leaders working on possible contaminants in olive oils and olive-pomace oils to express their interest in participating in data collection and method validation.” The newsletter moves on to world trade in olive oil and table olives, with a focus on Japan, the fourth largest importer of olive oil in the world, mostly from Spain and Italy, with imports up by 18% in the first three months of the crop year, compared to last year. More generally, trade in olive oil and olive pomace oil began the 2018/19 crop year with significant increases in the first three months (October – December 2018): “28% in Russia; 25% in Australia; 18% in Japan; and 15% in Brazil.” Table olive trade also increased in some countries. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices remain considerably lower than last year in Spain (25%), Tunisia (18%), and Greece (14%), but much higher in Italy (46%).

This Olive Oil Times article avoids the overgeneralizations we see in most publications about the current olive harvest year, showing that the situation in several countries is more complicated than many think. 

The International Olive Council newsletter for February has a new look and quite a lot of information about past and future meetings (in Egypt, Japan, Germany) and projects (the Horizon2020 project called OLEUM). Noteworthy: “the International Olive Council plans to award 20 scholarships for the university specialisation course in the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil (university expert diploma) taught at the University of Jaén (Spain).” Applications are due March 15, and this is open only to those fluent in Spanish, the language of instruction. Italy has proposed a new classification for extra virgin olive oil, which it suggests be limited to olive oil with an acidity of no more than 5% (instead of the current 8%). “A proposal must be officially presented to the [IOC] Council of Members so that the Executive Secretariat can take the steps necessary to study the issue at hand.” In market news: worldwide table olive consumption has increased by 178.7% since 1990. In the first two months of 2018/19 crop year, October to November 2018, eight markets increased their olive oil imports, compared to the same time last year: Australia (38%), Brazil (31%), Russia (25%), Japan (19%), Canada (15%), and China (5%). Extra virgin olive oil prices in Italy have continued to increase and remain far higher than in Spain, Greece, and Tunisia.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olivenews.gr that the Greek olive oil market is now characterized by low demand and low prices, since excellent extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) are much less common than last year, with some exceptions for very high quality EVOOs in Laconia and Crete.

This confirms expectations that this difficult crop year, due to weather and olive fruit fly problems, means less olive oil from Greece, with quality problems in many areas. On the other hand, Ioannis Kampouris says, "The producers who devoted time to cater to their groves and executed precise crop-dusting operations received olive oils of high quality, provided that harvest and processing of the olives occurred on time.... So, instead of the usual mass production, small producers will be able to demonstrate their quality products.”

"Small-scale Greek producers are taking a gamble that the risk of investing in organic olive oil production will pay off. Some say Greece has the ideal conditions in which to do so."

Danielle Pacheco provides an overview of the big picture of olive oil production this year according to European Commission figures, with Greece producing the 2nd largest amount of olive oil, after Spain, and the total production worldwide not too much less than last year.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Olivenews.gr that "official information from the Spanish Ministry" leads him to expect 1.6 million metric tons of olive oil from Spain this crop year, rather than the more optimistic 1.76 million estimated by the European Commission.

As Ylenia Granitto writes for Olive Oil Times, "the International Olive Council and the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies organized a seminar with the goal of consolidating a common action plan against Xf." (Xylella has not been reported in Greece to date, but vigilance is encouraged.)

At the 108th meeting of the Council of Members of the International Olive Council (IOC) in November, the rotating leadership was transferred from Argentina to Egypt. In the context of a World Olive Day celebration, the newsletter offered an overview of who is involved with the IOC, and what the IOC does. At a CO2 International Seminar, the IOC’s algorithm to calculate the carbon footprint of olive oil was presented and discussed, and additional research on olive trees’ ability to extract carbon from the atmosphere was encouraged. The topics covered at the 52nd meeting of the Advisory Committee on olive oil and table olives were mentioned. The rest of the newsletter focused on world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting a significant decrease in olive oil imports in the 2017/18 crop year in Brazil and Canada and a slight decline in the USA, and discussing fluctuations in olive oil prices through mid November, as compared to the previous year.

A 500-ml bottle of extra virgin olive oil made from the olives of ancient trees around Ierapetra, Crete was sold recently for €510 at an auction in the Netherlands.

Vassilis Zampounis updated his expectations for olive oil production from the major Mediterranean producers on Olivenews.gr. The big picture, worldwide, is better than he had expected earlier, although that is not true for Greece.

Costas Vasilopoulos provides an overview of expectations for this year's Greek olive oil production in Olive Oil Times, noting that "a reduction in quality and quantity is expected in the majority of olive oil making territories compared to last year."

Earlier forecasts called for less olive oil production worldwide this year; what is noteworthy here is that the decrease now looks like 5.5% rather than the more concerning 8% drop predicted earlier.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for October begins with an overview of Brazilian olive oil imports (only 1% from Greece), a September meeting about how to “to prevent, control and mitigate the effects of the bacteria Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) in olive trees” and a December seminar on “Integrated Action against Xylella fastidiosa to Protect Olive Trees and International Trade,” then moves on to world trade in olive oil and table olives. Notable figures for October 2017- August 2018 include a 28% in imports of olive oil into Brazil and 16% increase into Canada, and an 89% increase in imports into the EU, especially from Tunisia. OIive oil producer prices fell slightly in Spain and Greece in recent weeks, while passing 5 euros per kg by mid October in Italy.

The Aristoleo team took some high phenolic extra virgin olive oils to SIAL Paris recently, showcasing some extra healthy EVOOs on the world's stage.

In this article (in Greek), Vassilis Zampounis reports that the powerful Xenophon and Zorba storms that hit Greece this fall led to reduced expectations for the country’s olive oil production; instead of the 240,000 metric tons he predicted before, he now expects 210,000 from Greece. On the other hand, his prediction for Italy is unchanged at 190,000, while the forecast for Spain has improved, going up to 1.6 million metric tons.

Naturally, this includes the olive and olive oil sectors. Solutions mentioned here and elsewhere include increased branding (vs. bulk sales), promotion of PDO products, and links to agrotourism ventures.

This is an interesting summary of many of the topics covered at the recent conference at Yale School of Public Health, which convened a committee to plan a new olive institute at this prestigious American university.

"Seven companies in Greece that produce table olives and extra virgin and virgin olive oil were the first in the country to display a 'Greek Mark' on their labeling, part of a project to distinguish Greek products in foreign markets."

The IOC reports on provisional data for global olive oil production for the 2017/18 crop year, with 3,315,000 metric tons produced overall, which is a 28% increase compared to the previous crop year, and a 9% consumption increase. The major producing countries for 2017/18 were Spain (1,256,200 metric tons), Italy (428,900), Greece (346,000), Tunisia (280,000), Turkey (263,000), Morocco (140,000), and Portugal (134,800), according to figures provided by each country. Except for Spain, whose production had fallen by 2.7%, each of these countries enjoyed a significant increase in production compared to the previous year, although the increase varied from 27% in Morocco to 180% in Tunisia. “According to the official country data and the estimates of the IOC Executive Secretariat, world production in 2018/19 is estimated at around 3 064 000 t, which would be a decrease of approximately 7.6% compared to the previous year. Consumption is expected at 2 916 500 t…. At this point in the year it is still too early to judge the accuracy of these estimates and the figures that the Council of Members will examine at the end of November will be more solid, unless exceptional weather conditions intervene.” Specifically, these are the current forecasts for major producing countries: Spain, 1,550,000 metric tons; Italy, 270,000; Greece, 240,000; Turkey, 183,000; Morocco, 145,000; Portugal, 130,000; Tunisia, 120,000. For table olives, “world production for the 2018/19 crop year is estimated at 2 735 500 t, a 7% decrease compared to the previous crop year.” Tables provide an overview of imports of olive oil and table olives during most of the 2017/18 crop year, and graphs show major producer countries’ olive oil price fluctuations over the last few years.

This is Daniel Dawson's summary for Olive Oil Times of the International Olive Council newsletter I also summarized a bit differently above.

Compared to last year, the Greek olive harvest is "expected to be slimmer mainly due to the production cycle of the olive trees, and the olive fruit fly has again made its presence felt in many areas of the country." However, some growers are more hopeful than others; the situation is not uniform throughout the country.

As Daniel Dawson writes, "The conference will gather industry members from an array of disciplines to plan the formation of an olive oil think tank."

As Costas Vasilopoulos writes for Olive Oil Times in his summary of some of the benefits of the new deal, "By discarding its own labeling rules and by adopting the rules of the IOC, Japan will make it a lot easier for bottlers and exporters to send their olive oils to this part of the Far East.... The Office for Economic and Commercial Affairs of the Greek Embassy in Tokyo told us that they foresee an indirect benefit for olive oil from the opening of the Japanese market to EU products, which will prompt consumers to opt for more products from the EU member states."

This edition of the International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter provides an overview of the IOC’s upcoming activities and meetings, including some leading up to World Olive Day on November 22. For example, the IOC’s Statistics Working Group will meet October 1 to discuss estimates for the upcoming and past harvest years, among other topics. Olive oil chemistry and standardization issues, categories, and debates will be addressed at a number of meetings. The newsletter also provides an overview of olive oil trade from October 2017 to June 2018 (and table olives during a similar period), noting a 29% increase of olive oil imports into Brazil and a 98% increase in imports into the European Union from outside the EU, mainly from Tunisia. Changes in producer prices in major olive oil producing countries are also summarized, with significant reductions compared to the same time last year (26-27% less for Greece, Italy, and Spain, 18% less in Tunisia) and considerably higher prices in Italy than in the other three.

"Six months after the new rule banning refillable bottles, the restaurants who apply it are still an exception." However, the owner of one exception emphasizes the important goal of the law.

"The National Interbranch Olive Oil Association unveiled a strategy to create a stable environment and boost exports."

Vassilleios Zampounis's first predictions of how much olive oil there will be in the next harvest year, starting this fall, on his Olive News website.

At the 107th session of the International Olive Council (IOC) Council of Members in Buenos Aires (Argentina) from June 18-21, the council discussed updated data on olive oil and table olives for the 2016/17 and 2017/18 crop years (provided here for olive oil). After the council meeting, the IOC and “the Argentine authorities held an international seminar on the olive oil sector in the Americas.” After summarizing what was covered there, the newsletter goes on to discuss world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting changes in imports in major countries from October through April, including a 29% increase of olive oil imports in Brazil, but a 17% decrease of imports in Australia. The newsletter ends with a discussion of olive oil producer price changes in Greece, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia, where prices are all considerably lower than they were a year ago (28-31% lower in the European countries, 18% lower in Tunisia). Prices in Italy and especially Tunisia have been relatively stable in recent weeks, with a slight increase lately in Italy, while prices in Spain and Greece had been falling, then increased a bit in Spain while stabilizing in Greece, according to an IOC chart in the newsletter.

Greek scientists in Greece and at Yale University "conducted a study in which they propose measures to advance sustainable olive oil production and advertise the nutritional value of olive oil products, as well as for the creation of a park and museum on the subject in the town" of Delphi, and both Greek officials and Yale University support the proposal.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for May 2018 opens with a focus on olive and olive oil production, harvesting, consumption, exports, and varieties in Argentina, which currently holds the IOC presidency and will host the IOC’s session of the Council of Members June 18-21. The newsletter then provides an overview of world trade in olive oil and table olives. It discusses olive oil imports in 8 major markets this harvest year, with a significant increase in Brazil (21%), a major decrease in Australia (19%), and smaller changes in other countries. Table olive imports had mainly modest changes. Producer prices for extra virgin olive oil are more than 30% lower than the same time last year in Greece, Italy, and Spain, and down 19% in Tunisia.

The International Olive Council's Market Newsletter for April provided updated statistics for olive oil and table olive production in the 2017/18 crop year, mentioned an upcoming international seminar on the Olive Sector in the Americas (June 22, Buenos Aires), discussed promotion campaigns in China and Australia, and offered an overview of world trade in olive oil and table olives, as well as recent trends in producer prices. One noteworthy statistic: "World production (Graph I) for this campaign was estimated in November 2017 at 2 988 500 t, but according to the most recent country figures received, production stands at around 3 271 000 t, which is a 27% increase (+697 000 t) compared to the previous crop year."

A Greek professor’s invention helps olive farmers decide the best time to harvest their olives to optimize the health benefits and quantity of their olive oil.

A new society has been established in Greece to support development, promotion, collaboration, and education "to improve the prospects of the Greek olive sector, while shaping a better environment for the flagship products of Greece: olive oil and table olives."

More good news about olive oil: it is good for the environment as well as for human health, because olive trees absorb a lot of carbon dioxide.

At the 51st meeting of the Advisory Committee of the International Olive Council (IOC), "the Advisory Committee addressed a number of questions and reaffirmed the validity of the panel test for the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils, calling for its reinforced application and protection from false reports which helped neither the sector nor the Organisation."

The International Olive Council (IOC) discusses worldwide olive oil production and consumption trends.

The Greek Ministry of Agriculture and Food has notified regional and local authorities about the outbreak in Spain, and vigilance is necessary in Greece.

Following a discussion of historical and current olive and olive oil production in Jordan, the newsletter continues to a discussion of olive oil and olive imports into selected countries from September or October to January and concludes with a summary of olive oil producer price trends in major producing countries. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices decreased in Spain and Greece over the last few weeks and remained stable in Italy, with prices in all three countries (especially Italy) lower than during the same period last year.

The story of the Pierrakos family, Greek immigrants to the USA who dedicated themselves to producing and bottling high quality 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil before many Greeks had started doing that.

The International Olive Council’s February Market Newsletter opens with a spotlight on the Japanese olive oil market, noting growth in its import market since 1991 and in consumption since 1997 and discussing Japanese olive oil production, imports, consumption, knowledge, and interest in quality. (Only 1% of the olive oil imported into Japan comes from Greece.) The newsletter then turns to worldwide trade in olive oil and table olives, noting slight increases and larger decreases in imports of olive oil and olive pomace oil from October to December 2017 in several key countries, and a 40% increase in imports into the EU, especially from Tunisia, Argentina, and Morocco. Table olive imports also fell in several countries. Recently, producer prices for olive oil decreased slightly in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Tunisia, with the first three countries’ prices all lower than a year ago (especially Italy’s).

This is a summary of an in-depth study of olive oil in the American market. The study was drafted by the Greek Embassy's Office of Economic and Commercial Affairs.

As Isabel Putinja write for Olive Oil Times, "Makri is an indigenous Greek olive variety cultivated in Alexandroupoli in northeastern Greece close to the border with Turkey, a region located in the western part of the geographical and historical region known as Thrace. An application was submitted to the European Commission on January 11 to include the Greek olive variety “Elaiolado Makris” (also often called “Makri”) on the EU’s list of food products with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status."

As Costas Vasilopoulos writes for Olive Oil Times, Xylella fastidiosa has not been detected in Greece, and the government is determined to keep it out.

The International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) Market Newsletter for January opens with a reference to the IOC’s Olive Oil Promise promotional campaign, which was launched in the USA last month at a scientific conference at the University of California at Davis that focused on olive oil’s health benefits. (A link is provided with abstracts of the papers presented there.) The newsletter discusses and graphs the growth in imports of olive oil over the last 25 years in the USA, the world’s leading importer of olive oil. Increasing imports of bulk olive oil in the USA are noted and graphed, with most coming from Spain. Graphs also indicate the amounts of different types of olive oil imported into the USA in recent years, with extra virgin leading. The newsletter then summarizes key points about world trade in olive oil and table olives, noting a decrease in olive oil imports in several major markets (especially China) in October and November. Extra virgin olive oil producer prices have changed slightly in Spain and Greece but decreased 29% in Italy and 12% in Tunisia compared to last year.

The co-writers of the "Olive Encyclopedia: The olive oil" announced on January 23rd the establishment of the "Olive Encyclopedists Society," starting with 29 distinguished scientists interested in interdisciplinary collaboration focused on olives and olive oil. The society supports cooperation among academics, the olive oil industry, and olive growers to foster innovation. Other scientists who share these goals will be invited to join the society later, as well.

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!

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.

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.

"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."

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.

 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.

The June newsletter covers the following topics: olive oil import trends in China, the International Olive Council’s (IOC’s) proposal that the World Customs Organization consider “aligning the customs headings with the definitions established in the IOC standard for olive oils and olive-pomace oils, providing a definition for each heading,” world trade in olive oil and table olives, and olive oil producer prices. Imports in olive oil and olive pomace oil have increased by 36% in Brazil, 32% in Australia, 17% in China, 8% in Canada, and 4% in Japan in the first 7 months of the current harvest year, compared with last year. Producer prices for extra virgin olive oil have decreased a bit in recent weeks in Spain, Italy, and Tunisia, while remaining stable in Greece. Prices in Italy are 66% higher than last year, and approximately 30% higher than last year in the other three main producing countries.

Here are some of the first predictions for the next olive oil season, from Vassilis Zampounis in Olive News.

A new project will develop quality control and production techniques to aid producers while educating consumers about high-phenolic olive oil's health benefits and certifying those health benefits.

Includes “an update of the figures sent by the member countries for 2015/16 (definitive) and 2016/17 (provisional)” on worldwide olive and olive oil production, consumption, and trade, as well as producer price movements in olive oil. The IOC estimates that worldwide olive oil production in 2016/17 “will decrease by approximately 20% compared to the previous crop year,” with European producers down by 25%, Spain producing 8% less than last year, Italy 61% less, and Greece 39% less. For this crop year it is expected that “world consumption will exceed production by 13%.” Producer prices at the end of May showed increases of 36% for Spain in comparison with the same time one year earlier, 66% for Italy, and 30% for Greece, although Spain’s late May price is 6% less than the “maximum price in the third week of August 2015” (important since Spain produced 50% of the world’s olive oil this year). One good point: “The representatives of both the olive oil and the table olive sectors predicted a year-on-year increase in production in 2017/18. The current flowering conditions point to a good crop in most producer countries provided the favourable climatic conditions continue.”

This is a report on what was discussed at the meeting in Rome from May 23 to 26, 2017.

The International Olive Council's (IOC's) Market Newsletter for April 2017 discusses olive growing and olive oil production, consumption, and exports in Italy and then provides more general information about the following: selected olive oil imports worldwide (with large increases in Australia, Brazil, and China); table olive imports; and producer prices in the main olive oil producing countries (considerably higher than in the same period last year, especially in Italy, but less so in Greece).

Vassilis Zambounis discusses recent prices for Mediterranean olive oil and varying predictions for price changes in the coming months.

Vassilis Zampounis writes in Greek in Olive News that “international consumption triumphs” over difficulties in the olive oil world. As he shows in a chart with his Greek article on the subject, the main olive oil importing countries “are showing excellent behavior, significantly increasing consumption …despite rising prices, offsetting any problems” with decreasing consumption “in Mediterranean countries…and presaging exciting developments.” Specifically, Zampounis reports, “imports (consumption) rose by 73% in Australia, 37% in Brazil, 31.5% in China, nearly 20% in Canada, 16% in Japan and 4.5% in the US” from October 2016 to January 2017.

At a conference organized by the Society of Olive and Olive Oil Products of Certified Quality (EL3P) at the Agricultural University of Athens (AUA) on March 23, experts focused on olive and olive oil quality and the current situation of the Greek olive oil industry.

This article is in Greek, but as it offers an important update on Spanish olive oil production, I summarize it here. Vassilis Zampounis reports in Olive News that the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture announced Spain’s latest olive oil production figures, as of the end of February, for the 2016/17 harvest year. Zampounis reports that February output in Spain was 156,578 metric tons, so that the entire 2016/17 marketing year reaches 1,229,289 metric tons in that country. With little more expected in March, the target of 1.3 million tons will only be approached, but not achieved. Even so, Zampounis suggests that with the end of uncertainty about Spanish production, the markets should now be calmed.

This newsletter discusses olive oil's health benefits; significant increases in the olive oil market in China since 2001; IOC meetings about Xylella fastidiosa and a pilot nursery project; increased olive oil sales in countries including Australia, Brazil, China, Canada, and Japan; table olive trade; and EVOO producer prices, which have continued to increase in Spain and Italy but remain stable, and generally lowest, in Greece.

This newsletter explains that table olives strengthen immune systems with their probiotic microorganisms and offer antioxidants especially important to athletes, notes a 182% increase in table olive consumption worldwide since 1990, charts the olive consumption levels in a number of countries, discusses increased olive oil imports at the beginning of the current crop year, considers the table olive trade so far, and surveys olive oil producer prices during the crop year so far and over the past few years.

This article by Marilyn Harding describes an important development in the Greek olive oil industry today: "the highly coveted medicinal quality of olive oil that built a civilization and is helping to revive the modern Greek economy," with the help of some dedicated producers of ultra-healthy high phenolic extra virgin olive oil. (December 14, 2016)

"The International Olive Council (IOC) participated in the 22nd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22), which was held in Marrakech (Morocco) from 7 to 18 November 2016, and whereby the UN sought to adopt a framework for action against global warming." The IOC explained "how, through the adoption of appropriate agricultural practices, olive trees can contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions."

Alice Alech writes, "Learning to appreciate olive oil at an early age is an advantage to young adults; it puts them on the right path towards a healthy lifestyle later on.... Research carried out in Greece on 190 high school students show that teenagers once they are made aware of the sensory properties, and the analysis of extra virgin olive oil can distinguish between extra virgin olive oil and defective oil. The results also showed that the young adults aged between 13 and 15 years old were able to recognize rancid and muddy sediment in olive oil." (November 28, 2016)

"The International Olive Council attended the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) to present research on sustainable olive oil production." (November 18, 2016)

The identification of olive cultivars according to the appearance of leaves and fruit is expected to serve as the basis for a phone app and contributions to a new international olive tree database. (November 4, 2016)

“[G]lobal experts warn the Mediterranean diet, prized for its health benefits, is losing so much ground to the fast food culture that the decline may be irreversible.” (July 11, 2016)

On May 20, 2016, the FDA announced the new Nutrition Facts label for packaged foods to reflect new scientific information, including the link between diet and chronic diseases such as obesity and heart disease.”

The latest research indicates that the carbon sink effect from olive trees in the biomass and soil is much higher than greenhouse gas emissions from production. (July 8, 2016)