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The YMCA-YWCA Joint Advocacy Initiative (JAI), in co-operation with the Alternative Tourism Group (ATG), has ended its annual Olive Picking Program. The more than 130 activists/participants of the program come through Christian organizations, Churches and solidarity movements from 16 American, European and Asian countries.
There is grave concern in Europe’s olive oil sector over the first appearance there of a plant disease said to have already infected tens of thousands of olive trees – many of them a century-old – in Italy’s Puglia region. Scientists have recommended uprooting and destroying the diseased trees amid the “extremely rapid spread” of…
Financial woes coming from all sides continue to take their toll on Argentina’s olive oil industry. With inflation outpacing the devaluation of the peso, producers are struggling to compete with Spain, Italy and other major exporters, resulting in what the Mendoza journal Sitio Andino referred to recently as a “structural crisis.”
A proposed new quality seal will help protect Spanish olive oil from “smear campaigns” by new producer countries, according to one of its main proponents, the regional government of Andalusia.
These are the days when olive harvest in Italy — and in all the Mediterranean area where the clever early-picking habit gained ground — is really getting going, despite the unfavorable weather conditions with heavy rains and hailstorms impeding or slowing down the work.
The harvest of olives for oil is under way in California, as growers are reporting good yields and good fruit quality. The table olive harvest has been more spotty, as better crops have emerged in Central California orchards … olive oil producers say their yields are running as much as 20% above last year’s.
The world of olive oil is like the Wild West. The “liquid gold,” in particular extra virgin olive oil, is a sought after commodity, with an increasing demand spurred on by research about its health benefits. It’s all the more disconcerting that no enforceable standards anywhere in the world govern the industry.
U of A students will soon be picking the olive trees on campus, to make olive oil. It is all part of a campus sustainability project. The olive trees on the campus can make a mess, but thanks to a grant from the U of A Green Fund, students hope to harvest the olives and make them…
Agri-Vie, a private equity fund that invests in agribusiness companies in sub-Saharan Africa, believes demand for table olives is set to grow across the continent. Agri-Vie, headquartered in South Africa, recently announced it has bought a 63% stake in South African-based Cape Olive Holdings, the country’s largest table olive supplier.
Growers’ claims that abusive behavior in the olive oil sector is driving down ex-mill prices may be investigated by Catalonia’s competition watchdog. According to Catalan farmer group Unió de Pagesos, the Catalan Competition Authority (ACCO) agreed in Barcelona on Tuesday to probe its claims of anti-competitive conduct in the olive oil sector.