Industry News
To search by topic, use the 'News by category' filter. To search by month and year, use the 'News by month' filter.
It’s a good time to think big when it comes to growing table olives in California, and fewer trees this year are going into the ground in the state to produce olive oil. But production of olive oil in California is expected to nearly double over the next few years. And both industries have a common enemy — imports of questionable quality. Those were among observations at a University of California program in Tulare where participants also heard the latest on mechanical harvesting, olive knot and verticillium management and use of olive mill waste water for nutrition and for management of olive diseases and insect pests.
Read MoreA decline in olive and pomace oil imports into Canada and Australia is “worrying,” the International Olive Council declares in its April newsletter. It reports that October-February imports into Canada and Australia were 20 and 5% lower respectively than the same period last season. “This is particularly worrying” it says “because this downward movement has been happening for three months in a row.”
Read MoreSales of imported food items are growing at 20-25% and are seen touching 30-35% in the next two years. The sales of olive oil have overtaken those of Saffola, a premium cooking medium made from sunflower seeds, in Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, the food and grocery retail chains of India’s largest listed retail company Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd. That olive oil costs two-and-a-half times the price of regular sunflower oil and is at least 25% more expensive than Saffola hasn’t deterred buyers.
Read MoreDespite their reputation for being very much an acquired taste, the lowly olive has actually been one of the most important crops in human history. First cultivated more than 10,000 years ago, olives have been used in food, hygiene products, religion, medicine, and in the lamps that lit the homes of the great thinkers of our past such as Homer and Socrates. Virtually every culture in southern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa utilized olives in their day to day lives, and in the process of founding our modern world.
Read MoreAn unusually well-preserved olive oil press was unearthed by archaeologists on the outskirts of the city of Modi’in in central Israel, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced recently. The press “was used for industrial oil production for consumption and illumination about 1,400 years ago,” the IAA said. That means the press would have been active around the end of the period of Byzantine rule and the beginning of Muslim rule in 637 CE.
Read MoreFor the third time in eight months, the European Commission is to subsidise the temporary withdrawal of olive oil from the market in the hope rock bottom farm gate prices improve. An EC committee voted in favor of private storage aid (PSA) to cover 100,000 tons of virgin and extra virgin olive oil for up to 180 days. The aid will be available in all EU producer countries, namely Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. It is allocated via a tender process and the first offers will be accepted starting on May 31.
Read MoreThink of extra virgin olive oil as wine. Like grapes, different varieties of olives have regional characteristics and bring different flavors to the oil. Not all olives are grown, harvested and pressed equally. Compared with Mediterranean populations, Americans caught on late to extra virgin olive oil, but we are trying to catch up. “In the United States, olive oil consumption is increasing each year and [people are] getting a little more sophisticated,” says Bob Profaci of Glen Rock, who is part of the family business that imports Colavita olive oils to the US.
Read MoreWater shortage due to climate change could make parts of one of Catalonia’s top olive oil producing regions – the Siurana DOP – unviable within 20 years, according to researchers. Rising temperatures augur well for optimal development of the olive fruit, but the reduced rainfall and increased irrigation demands in the Siurana river basin will make production much more costly and complicated, they say.
Read MoreA South Australian company has been fined $13,000 for mislabelling its product as extra virgin olive oil, when it wasn’t. The oil was produced by the Big Olive Company, of Tailem Bend, between December 2010 and March 2011. It was sold in 500ml bottles labelled as Oz Olio. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has tested seven extra virgin olive oil labels, including imports, but at this stage has only fined The Big Olive.
Read MoreNominations are now open for the inaugural NSW Organic Pioneers Award, recognising dedicated organic producers, innovators in the organic industry who are passionate about organics. The winner will receive a $6000 professional development travel bursary. The initiative is supported by the NSW Organic Ministerial Advisory Council and the NSW Department of Primary Industries and sponsors include Biological Farmers of Australia, Organic Federation of Australia, National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia and NSW regional food groups. Self-nominations are encouraged; or nominations with approval Applications close 1 June 2012. Entry forms www.organicpioneers.com.au via email to [email protected]
Read More