Olives101.com

by Joel Santos Guimarães
Last year, Brazilian imports of the product totaled US$ 170 million. Of this total, 54% came from Portugal. And the forecast is for growth to continue as, this year, expansion of 20% is expected in comparison with 2007.
Two reasons are given for the market growth: the first is that Brazilians are [...]

The Punjab government is all set to launch olive cultivation over 300 hectares under a ‘pilot project’ to ensure better remunerative returns to the farmers on one hand and towards a dedicated push for diversification of agriculture on the other.
Reviewing the prospects of the olive plantation in a meeting, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal [...]

International food manufacturer Unilever Plc. said it has sold its Bertolli olive oil and vinegar business to Grupo SOS for 630 million euros.
Unilever said the transaction includes the sale of its Italian Maya, Dante and San Giorgio olive oil and seed oil businesses, and the factory at Inveruno, Italy.
The company said it will retain the [...]

Unilever Plc. said it has signed a definitive agreement to sell Komili, the olive oil brand that it owns in Turkey, for an undisclosed price to Ana Gida, part of the Anadolu Group and expects to close the deal in 2008.
The international food manufacturer said the transaction is part of its announced plans to dispose [...]

Tunisia, the world’s fourth-largest olive oil producer, increased sales abroad by 15 percent to 89,300 tonnes over the first three months of the year, government data showed on Tuesday.
Olive oil represents half the country’s farm exports which account for more than 10 percent of total exports.
Tunisia sells 90 percent of its olive output abroad, mainly [...]

Would make state definitions conform to world standards
Current California law does not define olive oil grades

A bill to update California’s definitions of olive oil grades to conform to international standards is headed to a vote by the California Assembly.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee voted Wednesday to approve Senate Bill 634, authored by Sen. Patricia Wiggins, D [...]

J.L. Morison (India) Ltd, part of the $ 250 Million Rasoi Group has forayed into the health food segment with the launch of Carbonell, the world’s leading olive oil Brand in India.
The Brand Ambassador for Carbonell in India, the eminent Master Chef, Sanjeev Kapoor, unveiled two world class zero cholesterol products under the Carbonell [...]

Oroville-based California Olive Ranch Inc. continues to make progress on building the largest olive mill in North America.
The mill, being built near Artois, is expected to process 76,000 gallons of olive oil a day.
The company has invested more than $30 million in its Glenn County operations, which includes a 1.500 olive orchard.
Glenn County olive growers [...]

SOS Cuetara SA is studying the acquisition of ‘many’ olive oil companies and has admitted its interest in international food manufacturer Unilever Plc.’s Italian olive oil brand Bertolli, according to SOS chairman Jesus Salazar.
Speaking to Thomson Financial News on the sidelines of a small-midcaps forum, Salazar said that it is studying ‘many companies’, and that [...]

By Nikos Xydakis,
Although many jokes have been made about the sunflower oil contamination scandal, it is no laughing matter.
It is not even an isolated incident, because along with the contaminated oil from Ukraine, we are also seeing large quantities of sunflower oil from Belgium – the heart of the European Union – being withdrawn from [...]

L’association de la foire internationale de Sfax organisera du 20 au 24 Mai 2008 le 7ème Salon Méditerranéen de l’Agriculture et des Industries Alimentaires « SMA–Med Food 2008 ». Cette manifestation enregistrera des diverses manifestations économiques, scientifiques et culturelles, à dimension, nationale et internationale.
Le SMA–Med Food 2008 couvrira l’ensemble des entreprises proposant des produits et/ou [...]

The VINOLIVE / Wine, Olive, Olive Oil and Technology Fair, now in its 5th year, being the most effective platform for the sector of wine, olive and olive producers, offers both its exhibitors and visitors the opportunity to get in direct contact with these sector representatives along with the production technology specialists.
VINOLIVE develops to be [...]

Boundary Bend Limited, based in north-western Victoria, says it doesn’t make financial sense to put new plantings in Australia, while water prices are high and reliability of water is low.
Rob McGavin from Boundary Bend says there are some advantages to farming overseas.
“The land and water package in Argentina is less than ten per cent of [...]

By Cynthia Graber,
By correlating fruit color with oil content measured via nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), growers can find the optimal time to harvest their olives.
Olive oil producers generally guess the best time to harvest their olives by checking the fruit’s color. The olive has to hit that perfect spot where they’ve just turned ripe—purple to [...]

SOS Cuetara SA. declined to comment on its possible interest in acquiring international food manufacturer Unilever Plc.’s Italian olive oil brand Bertolli, as reported in Italy’s daily Il Sole 24 Ore.
The newspaper also flagged Nutrinvest of Portugal as a possible buyer.
SOS bought the Friol Italia oil brand from Unilever for 33.25 million euros at the [...]

By Robin Pagnamenta,
Unilever, the maker of Marmite and Magnum ice cream, confirmed today that it was considering the sale of its Bertolli olive oil business as it reported a 7.2 per cent rise in first quarter sales.
The Anglo-Dutch company, the world’s third largest maker of consumer goods, said it was considering a range of options [...]

There’s a new name for the East Coast Olive Oil bottling and packaging plant at Griffiss business park, but that’s all that’s changing, says a company official.
The company that moved to Rome from Utica last year and has about 160 employees is now known as Sovena USA, Inc.
“Really, it’s just a name change,” Eryn Balch, [...]

Consumers anticipating a decline in olive oil prices post duty reduction will have to wait for a few more days as fresh stocks imported after April 1 have not yet reached the market.
“We expect olive oil prices to go down by around 15 per cent, but a clear picture will emerge by mid-May because the [...]

President Dalmia, India decided to invest so much in olive oil market. Somebody is talking about a new Olive orchard model in the area called Rajasthan. Particularly they are intentioned to invest using very modern and high technologically irrigated systems. Why are you spending so much attention to olive cultivation?
In reality, I do not think [...]

A company from Turkish western province of Aydin will set up an olive oil filling facility in Romania to reach European consumers.
Ortak Entrepreneurs Corp. chairman, Ozcan Guven, told reporters on Friday that they would establish the facility in Ramnicu Valcea city, and the facility would start production within four months.
Guven said that nearly 80 people [...]

By Ross Farrow,

The domestic olive oil business shows such potential that Cortopassi Partners plans to increase production to 12 times more than it currently does at its plant southeast of Lodi.
The San Joaquin County Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing tonight on Cortopassi’s use permit application to expand its plant. If approved, Cortopassi will [...]

With the Centre reducing the customs duty on all grades of olive oil to 7.5 per cent from the previous rates of 45 per cent on virgin olive oil and 40 per cent on refined olive oil, prices of olive oil are likely to come down by up to 15 per cent on the stocks [...]

The Indian Olive Association has welcomed the sharp reduction in import duties on the product, saying it would bring down prices by 15 percent and make the product available to a larger number of consumers.
“We are gratified that the importance of olive oil is being recognised and that our efforts are bearing fruit soon [...]

By Laura Kurtzman,
After the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the University of California, Davis established a research department that led to the flowering of the California wine industry now, it hopes to do the same for olive oil.
The challenges to the emerging industry are significant. They include finding economical ways to produce fine oil, dealing [...]

The Texas Department of Agriculture reports the Lone Star State’s olive industry is poised for unprecedented growth in 2008, thanks to advances in olive tree production and an increased demand for olive oil. The industry was first established in 1994 with roughly 20,000 trees on four orchards. Today, the number of olive trees has grown [...]