Industry News

The country’s olive oil imports increased over 52% in 2011-12, in line with a rise in consumption. This growth is despite the weakening of the rupee that has made imports costlier. Olive oil imports touched 6,485 tonnes against 4,261 tonnes the previous year, said the India Olive Association. The growth trend in imports would be sustained in the current fiscal year, as consumption is expected to remain strong on rising awareness of health benefits of olive oil. Rising affordability and increasing exposure to western lifestyles is aiding the consumption trend.

The 10th annual Montalto Vineyard And Olive Grove Abundance Festival will be held this weekend, July 7-8 at the Redhill, Victoria property. A celebration of the olive harvest, the event includes olive and food-inspired market stalls, freshly pressed olive oils, cooking demonstrations, relaxing olive oil massages and Montalto Estate wine tastings. There’s also a martini bar, the Piazza Café, an olive tree nursery and entertainment including live music, an olive pit spitting competition and a kids’ corner with face painting and tractor-drawn carriage rides. More information https://www.montalto.com.au/olives-and-estate-produce/olive-festival.html

The official EU organic logo is now obligatory on all pre-packaged organic foods after the two-year transition period came to an end on 1 July. This mandatory status relates to products from EU Member States, however, and the logo remains optional for non-packed and imported products.

On the Dalmatian island of Brac, in cooperation with the Faculty of Agriculture in Zagreb, extensive research and inventory of indigenous varieties of olives has begun. The purpose of the project is to create a basis for branding varietal extra virgin olive oil which can conquer the European market. The olives need to be of high quality with a distinctive taste and research has already begun on the eastern side of the island, where a rare variety of buhavica is grown, buhavica are considered to be authentic Brac olives, reports daily newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.

An olive oil producer described the recent tree pruning in Rabat, Malta, which led to heavy public criticism, as “butchering”. Referring to photos of a pruned tree in Rabat, Sam Cremona, who has about 500 olive trees of his own, said the extensive wound caused by the chainsaw cannot be treated. A landscapist engaged by the Rabat local council to clear up broken branches and cut “sick” ones was recently involved in an incident with conservationist Foppe Seekles. The conservationist was upset at “aggressive” pruning he believed was “killing the trees”. After the incident, the council’s contract manager immediately stopped the pruning contract and Rabat mayor Sandro Craus said the council was seeking advice on the matter.

The major region of olive oil production region in the world, Jaén is home to over 65 million olive trees which are currently flowering, resulting in serious consequences for those with allergies in the province.
Extreme pollen counts have been recorded of more than 2,000 grains per cubic metre. Aggravation for allergy sufferers usually begins at about 50 grains, so this abnormally high level is causing extreme reactions in sensitized people living in the area.

The Italian police on Monday uncovered a fraud operation that doctored cheap oil to sell it as extra virgin olive oil, local media reported. According to the reports, 17 people were put under investigation on fraud-related charges, and three commercial operations were brought under observation in the central regions of Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Lazio. Police confiscated 5,000L of counterfeit oil kept in silos, and other 2,500L in garages where the fraudulent oil was being bottled, with an overall estimated market value of over 500,000 euro (US$630,000), local news agency Ansa said.