the olive blog

Olives in Athens IV

Further to the series of posts from Greece, today the olive blog has some photographs from Athens's Central Market. On one side of Athinas street is the huge meat and fish market.  A smaller more diverse market with fruit and vegetables lies on the other side. Below some snaps of the delicious table olives at two different stands. Next post stores around the market and then on to the placa.

Better Harvests in Spain and Tunisia

Better harvests in Spain and Tunisia may place pressure on the global price of olive oil according to this article in the French press.  Offsetting that, they say, is rising demand and new markets.

China and Olive Oil Imports

There are apparently growing calls in China for greater regulation on labeling of imported olive oil to protect consumers from lower quality olive-pomace oil parading as olive oil. More here at the People's Daily online. China's official Statistics show that China's olive oil imports, sourced mainly from Spain, Italy and Greece, grew from 392 tons in 2001 to 4,500 tons in 2005. In the first two months of 2006, China imported 1,225 tons of olive oil.  The article notes that lower quality olive-pomace oil - made from olive residue - made up 42.1% of the total, up 23.5 percentage points year on year.

The Olive Line

The UK Sunday Times reports that Britons are living longer but not necessarily healthier lives. New figures suggest that British women can expect 60 years of fit and active life. In Italy, the healthiest nation, they can expect to enjoy robust health until they are over 74. Lord Healey, 88, a former UK chancellor, observes in the article:

“In the old days the big division was the Iron Curtain. Now the most important division is the olive line. “North of that line, where olives don’t grow and there is less sun, people are less happy and live less long. South of the olive line, it’s the opposite.”

Greek Exports of Olive Oil Up

Greek exports of virgin olive oil were up 108 percent in the first three months of 2006 as reported here.

Italy, Olive Oil and Life Expectancy

From and article in today's Financial Times:

"Thanks to a moderate diet based on olive oil, wine, fish, fruit and vegetables, Italian life expectancy is one of the world's highest - 76.75 years for men and 82.81 for women."

Greece, Piquant Blue and Olive OIl Branding

According to Bloomberg Greece is spending spend 5 million euros (US$6.1 million) to improve the branding of its olive oil to help boost exports and the regional economy. They also report:

• Greece, the third-biggest producer of olive oil behind Spain and Italy, makes 400,000 tons annually, a quarter of which is exported.
• Just 6 percent of that is bottled and branded, with the rest sold in bulk at lower prices with no added value.
• Olive-oil production in Greece accounts for 1 percent of the country's economy and is the main source of income for about 600,000 families.

Meanwhile, NineMSN reports, Australian Olive oil marketer Piquant Blue Ltd plans to launch into the US market by the end of 2006, drawing on demand for "brand Australia" in the biggest market for the product behind Europe.

Olive Oil in China

China's taste for olive oil is apparently growing. An interesting article, by Benjamin Robertson, on China's first olive grove can be read here at aljazeera.

Spain and Israel

Prices continue to rise for olive oil in Spain meanwhile in Israel fake olive oil is reportedly flooding the market. The latter is said to be the case by the Israel Olive Oil Board.

Turkmenistan Olives

This article says olives from Turkmenistan are noted for early ripeness, oil content and bigger size of the fruit as compared to olives from other countries.  Recently, the article reports, the country’s first olive oil production plant was opened in the subtropical zone in the southwest of Turkmenistan.