Olives101.com » Middle East

Iran interested in Croatian olive oil

Olives101 — Sat, 09 May 2009 20:41:46 +0000

Iranian officials have said they are interested in importing olive oil from Croatia, the Croatian Agency for the Promotion of Exports and Investments (APIU) has said.

The announcement came after an eight day official visit to Iran by an APIU delegation where they met Iranian Ministry of Economy officials.

APIU head Slobodan Mikac said both countries pledged to continue economic cooperation.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: croatia, Iran, Olive Oil

Olive Oil Production Returns to Afghanistan

Olives101 — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 05:25:30 +0000

By Qadeem Weyar,

Olive Oil production in Nangarhar restores this product to the country after a decade and half.

The factory is reconstructed by the Italian government, funded $800,000 for the project. In addition of the oil, olive soap is also being produced in the factory.

The industrial unit is provided with modern equipments and some technical labours are also trained in Italy and Pakistan.

Engineer Ghulam Gul, head of the factory said the factory is engaged in producing the oil only two months in a year, therefore, he suggests to process other vegetables to maintain the factory switched on.

The official said, the factory was producing more than 80 tons of olive oil in a year back in 1984, when it was destroyed afterwards.

Nangarhar olive oil factory is part of the massive Provincial Canal Project which processes agricultural products in the country.

Despite boost in the Afghan economy, the country still imports almost the entire goods from neigbour countries.

Economical experts say establishing factories and producing goods will impact on self-sufficiency of Afghanistan.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: afghanistan, industry, Middle East, Olive Oil, production

Olive Oil Spreads, an Healthy Substitute for Butter & Margarine

Olives101 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 05:59:32 +0000

Dr. Eger Launches a Revolutionary line of Olive Oil Spreads that is based on a Technology Breakthrough that Maintains the Fatty Acid Composition.

Using a patented oil solidification process, which retains their original properties of all of the ingredients, Dr. Eger announced today the launch of new and healthy olive oil spreads which come in a variety of flavors (natural, garlic, basil, oregano, lemon and non-dairy butter) targeted for the American Baby Boomers market.

The spreads include functional ingredients such as Omega-3 fatty acids to preserve and provide great health benefits.

“We have worked for over a decade to develop healthy olive oil products” said Dr. Shaul Eger, founder and CEO of Dr. Eger. “Studies have demonstrated that people in Mediterranean countries are often healthier due to their high olive oil consumption, Our Olive Oil Spreads are a tasty way to promote the consumption of olive oil in the US and Europe“.

[Source] Click here for more details

Link to Us

Tags: benefit, health, israel, Olive Oil, spread

USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel

Olives101 — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 04:36:39 +0000

With a hard-earned U.S. Department of Agriculture signoff now in hand, TreeswithMeaning.com becomes one of the first companies in the U.S. approved to bring living olive trees from Israel to the North American market.

For owners–and brothers–Bruno and Jerome Schneider, building the company was an intricate business challenge requiring four years of negotiations, planning and inspired persistence.

The Schneiders organized a small, elite family of handpicked Israeli growers near the Jordan River and elsewhere, navigated a web of international permits and built a stateside infrastructure to shelter and nourish the hardy, fast-growing young trees as they arrive in the U.S.

TreeswithMeaning.com, the nature-based company that brothers Jerome and Bruno Schneider are launching, will bring authentic olive trees from Israel to the U.S. market.

The symbol-rich olive tree is as tough as it is beautiful. It thrives even in desert areas, grows rapidly and produces fruit even in harsh conditions. The olive tree is an ideal candidate for outdoor life in the states in growing zones 8 and above, or potted and living contentedly on the garden deck or in a sunny corner of the living room.

Launching a new company whose cornerstone message is rooted in spirit and whose initial product is living olive trees from Israel is more than a little daring in times like these.

Still, it is a mission the Schneiders are dedicated to achieving with their unique nature-based company. “The olive tree remains a world symbol of peace, prosperity and hope,” says Jerome Schneider, “and this is a primary reason we chose it to be the first we would bring to market.

Our intention for TREESwithMEANING.com is to create a successful company inspired by nature and contribute to the spread of positive values in the world. Olive trees from the holy land are, for us, an ideal beginning.”

Each olive tree from TREESwithMEANING.com will arrive with a certificate of authenticity, detailed care instructions and metaphoric roots that reach back to ancient times in the land of Israel and intertwine richly with early Jewish and Christian cultures.

The history of the olive tree encompasses millennia of positive symbolism. The fruit and oil of olive groves has been a source of wealth and stability throughout the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. The olive branch has symbolized hope and peace since biblical times and olive laurels crowned the champions of ancient Olympic Games.

Today, potted house versions commonly live in Israeli homes as symbols of blessing and prosperity and globally, millions of Israeli olive trees are being planted in Northern India and elsewhere to reforest exhausted lands and promote goodwill.

At a recent fund-raising gala in Austin, Texas for One World Theatre and Kids Reach, an arts program benefiting children, the Schneiders donated for auction the first three of the initial release of 2,500 olive trees in the U.S. The Israeli olive trees–in their North American debut–met with an enthusiastic reception on the bidding floor, bringing One World and Kids Reach several thousand dollars.

The company will market their unique trees as ideal gifts to mark important occasions–births, weddings, new homes–and as meaningful additions to church and synagogue landscapes, prayer gardens and meditation retreats. Priced around $475, olive trees from the holy land will be sold only online at www.TreeswithMeaning.com and through special partnership programs with religious centers, churches and synagogues.

Link to Us

Tags: Business, israel, Middle East, Olive Tree

EMS and JOPEA hold an ‘Energy Saving Methods and Mechanisms in the Olive Sector seminar

Olives101 — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 17:57:16 +0000

Energy Management Services International LLC (EMS) – the first company to provide energy management solutions (ESCo) in the Middle East – announced the organization of a seminar entitled ‘Energy Saving Methods and Mechanisms in the Olive Sector’ in collaboration with the Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association (JOPEA).

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: energy, jordan, Middle East, seminar

BGU, Beduin make modern olive press

Olives101 — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 04:01:43 +0000

By Judy Siegel-Itzkovich,

Ben-Gurion University researchers have launched a unique collaboration with Beduin entrepreneurs to develop a modern olive press in the Negev- just in time for the olive harvest.

For the past two years, the Beersheba researchers have had professional ties with Negev Beduin in the production of olive oil. The multi-disciplinary BGU team focused on the characterization, branding and improvement of the olive oil produced in the Negev. They worked with Ahmed Zabraga, an entrepreneur in Rahat.

These efforts have begun to bear fruit, and the first modern olive press was established recently in Rahat by Zabraga and his family. BGU researchers provided technological solutions concerning the pressing of olives and the treatment of the waste, which is environmentally damaging. The researchers are also examining the possibility of producing energy from the waste.

This project is part of the effort being made to upgrade Israel’s olive oil industry, specifically in the Negev. The BGU multi-disciplinary research team includes people from the plant oil biotechnology lab headed by Prof. Ze’ev Wiesman, and other BGU labs headed by Prof. Yael Edan from the industrial engineering and management department, Prof. Asher Brenner from the environmental engineering unit and Dr. Jack Gilron from the Zuckerberg Institute for Water Research at Sde Boker.

“The Negev has the potential to be a major area for the cultivation of olives,” said Wiesman. “Preparation of the technological infrastructure will enable producers from the Beduin sector to enjoy the rewards of an industry that is close to their heritage and hearts.”

The project integrates well with the new initiative of the Abu Basma Regional Council to promote an effective solution for some of the problems faced by the population in the council settlements.

“The university calls for more educated young Beduin to join the project. We hope to channel their abilities and talents to provide better opportunities for the younger generation in these communities,” concluded Wiesman.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: industry, israel, Olive Oil, olive press, Olive Tree, technology

Lebanon, Sidon’s Khan al-Franj puts spotlight on olives

Olives101 — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 20:42:43 +0000

By Mohammed Zaatari,

Sidon’s renowned Khan al-Franj souk hosted an Olive Day over the weekend, during which farmers from several southern communities gathered to learn about ways to plant olive trees and extract oil, while displaying several items related to the fruit.

The event was part of the weekly Souk al-Ared (Land Market) activity organized by the Hariri Foundation in cooperation with two Italian bodies, the Institute for University Cooperation (ICU) and Ecodeep, in addition to Slow Food, an international organization.

“This activity aims to raise farmers’ awareness over ways to sow olive trees and fill olive oil in a healthy way while offering them instructive conferences about olive cultivation,” Myriam Abu Haidar, operation manager at Slow Food, told The Daily Star. “This two-day festival includes handwork from olive derivatives, including soap, carved wood and cosmetics.”

“It also includes pickled olives and labneh with olive oil,” she added.

Majida Mcheik of the ICU said the association participated in the exhibition in order to share with farmers better ways to press olives and distinguish between what she described as “virgin and excellent olive oil.”

“This exhibition also informs farmers of the appropriate techniques to promote their production, while also informing the public of ways to make sure of the good quality of the oil they are buying,” she added.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: cosmetics, Event-Festival, lebanon, Middle East, Olive Oil

Rs 14 million olive plantation project launched in Khyber

Olives101 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:00:27 +0000

An olive plantation project costing Rs 14.585 million is starting at Akakhel Maira in Bara Tehsil, Khyber Agency, under the Sustainable Plans Development Programme (SPDP).

The project envisages establishment of community farms on 2000 acres of land under an agreement with local tribesmen. The project, when completed, would be handed over to the owners of the land, said a press release issued by Media Cell of FATA Secretariat on Friday.

Project Director Rahmat Jan said olive gardens project is likely to be completed in three years in close collaboration with tribal elders of Bara Tehsil.

He said olive was a valuable source of foreign exchange earning and the project would help improve socio-economic life of tribesmen. He added that at present funds were being spent on the import of olive oil and this project was a step forward to attain autarky in olive oil besides generating employment opportunities in the area.

He explained that community physical infrastructure ie tube wells, farms, roads, community dams and appropriate irrigation system was being laid out in the area to make the project a success.

The project director said community farm Bazaar Zakha Khel costing Rs 14.780 million was another project under which pistachio, pomegranate and almond orchards had been sown on 1050 acres wasteland of Bazaar Zaka Khel area of Khyber agency.

The survival rate of fruit plants is more than 90 percent and 15 community farms have been established on 21050 acres wasteland in Kurram, Mohmand and Khyber Agencies under the SPDP.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: olive grove, Olive Tree, Pakistan, plantations

PA Squeezes Out Millions of Dollars from Olive Harvest

Olives101 — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 10:43:39 +0000

By Hana Levi Julian,

Tens of thousands of acres in Judea and Samaria are blanketed with olive groves that now are bare of their fruit as one of the most successful harvest seasons in history draws to a close.

Palestinian Authority Arab farmers earned estimated revenues of more than $140 million from this year’s olive harvest, and they tripled their production of olive oil, according to the IDF, which credits its own presence with the smooth efficiency of the work.

[Source] Click here to continue

Link to Us

Tags: harvest, israel, Middle East, palestine

Saudi Arabia: Al-Jouf to have an olive city

Olives101 — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:33:44 +0000

Following the success of last year’s Olive Festival, an olive city named Al-Zaytoun will be built in Al-Jouf, said Muhammad bin Al-Nasser, the city’s mayor.

“A large plot with all basic amenities will be designated for the city,” Al-Nasser said, adding that he expects the city to help attract investors in olive and olive oil industry.

He said there are more than 13 million olive trees in the area and that more trees were being planted.

Al-Jouf Gov. Prince Fahd bin Badr has given top priority to the cultivation and production of olives.

The prince sponsored the first olive festival last year and will sponsor a second festival early next month.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: Middle East, Olive Tree, saudi arabia

Pakistan on long road to olive farming

Olives101 — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 23:26:33 +0000

By Bronwyn Curran,

In the dry hills of Pakistan’s violence-racked frontier with Afghanistan, an olive branch is being extended from Italy to tribesmen under fire from both US drones and Taliban fighters.

Rome is in the early throes of an ambitious project to convert Pakistan’s barren wild olive groves into fruit-bearers, establish new olive plantations and give birth to a new industry in olive oil production.

The troubled tribal hinterland is the poorest in Pakistan. It has little home-grown industry other than marble, fruit, pine nuts and crude weapons. Yet its climatic conditions and monsoon-free geography make it prime country for olive cultivation and a potential new edible oil industry.

[Source] Click here to continue

Link to Us

Tags: grove, Italy, Middle East, Olive Tree, Pakistan

Lebanese Southern farmers flock to olive groves as harvest season kicks off

Olives101 — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:08:53 +0000

By Mohammed Zaatari,

With the start of the autumn olive-picking season in Lebanon, farmers in the South flocked to their olive groves Monday in order to gather the fruit and ensure provisions for the upcoming year. In the village of Tanbourit near Sidon, Umm Abdo Sawma expressed satisfaction over this year’s crop.

“We have a great crop this season,” she told The Daily Star as she removed leaves from a batch of olives. “God bless this season,” she added.

Sawma’s neighbor, Umm Toufic Chalhoub, noted that olives formed an essential part of Lebanese cuisine.

“Olive oil is also a key ingredient in most traditional Lebanese foods,” she told The Daily Star. “The benefits and taste of olives are more treasured by village residents than city dwellers,” she added while striking olive seeds with a stone in preparation for their consumption.

“Hitting olives with a stone is a very common practice used to create pores in the seeds in order for vinegar to leak into them,” she explained.

While most farmers continue to harvest their olive crops in the traditional manners – either by climbing a ladder and picking the olives one by one, or by shaking the fruit from the branches of trees or even hitting them with a stick – others resort to the use of a more modern harvesting tool.

“The tool consists of a long pole with pincers and a collection cylinder. The pincers sever the olives from tree branches and the cylinder catches them as they fall,” Tayssir Ashmar, an owner of an olive orchard and mill, told The Daily Star.

According to Ashmar, the olive harvest in coastal regions begins in October and continues until November. “But in mountainous areas, the harvest season continues until December,” he added.

Ashmar said the Romans had initially brought the olive tree into our country, but “we also have another type of olive tree: the Italian tree that was brought into Lebanon 50 years ago. Lebanon embraces very old olive trees; some date back 500 years.”

Regarding prices, Ashmar said a kilo of “big” olives was sold at LL5,000 to LL6,000.

“The small olives are usually turned into oil. Every 70 kilos of seeds produce 16 kilos of oil,” he said. “The cost of a tank [20 liters] of olive oil is no less than $100.”

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: harvest, lebanon, Middle East, Olive Oil, Olive Tree

Jordan drought may claim thousands of olive trees

Olives101 — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 19:41:47 +0000

Farmers say at least 30,000 olive trees on brink of turning to dead wood after springs in Joradan’s Karak dried up.

Persistent drought in the south could lead to the decimation of thousands of olive trees in the city of Karak, 120km south of Amman, according to environmentalists, who blame climate change.

“We witness in summer a dramatic increase in temperatures and in winter a lack of rain,” said Ahmed Koufahi, executive director of the Jordan Environment Society.

“Our problem will worsen in the future and drought could strike all around the kingdom,” Koufahi told IRIN.

Olive trees could end up dying in the town ahead of the coming winter season, said Abdullah Fadel, a farmer from Iraq town, 20km south of Karak.

“Last year we had little rain during winter. This resulted in a small output of olives compared with previous years, but now we fear that all trees will die because we have not been able to water them for a while now,” said Fadel.

Farmers said at least 30,000 olive trees were on the brink of turning to dead wood after springs in the area dried up.

Many farmers resorted to purchasing water from tanks in the city, but the high cost prevented them from splashing out continuously.

“We are still far from the winter season. I don’t know what will happen until the first drop of rain comes, but it looks like all the trees in the town could die,” said Fadel.

At least 20 springs have provided the mangroves with water over the past decades, helping residents turn their town into a small green oasis.

But successive declines in levels of rain water have dried up almost 15 springs, said environmentalists.

Local residents use the springs for washing and cooking as the authorities often ration water to households in cities and towns across the kingdom because of chronic shortages.

In addition, the government has adopted a policy against digging underground water springs in an attempt to preserve water.

According to Aktham Mdanat, head of the Karak agriculture department, the drought is expected to lead to a 50 percent drop in this year’s olive production.

Residents of the town (population 7,000) have called for the construction of dams to help collect as much rainwater as possible during the winter season.

Jordan is one of the 10 most water-impoverished countries in the world. The desert kingdom has no river capable of providing the country with enough water as the Jordan River has turned into a small stream after its tributaries were diverted by Israel for agricultural purposes, according to Salameh Hiari, a professor at the University of Jordan. Nor does it have natural lakes. It depends solely on rain to supply its population of 5.6 million.

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: drought, ecology, jordan, Middle East, Olive Tree

Galway fairtrade company helps special needs children in Gaza

Olives101 — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:31:08 +0000

BY Declan Varley,

Irish Quaker Faith in Action and Mount of Olives Imports combine to support special needs school in Gaza.

A Galway-based company set up to sell Palestinian Fairtrade olive oil in Ireland is supporting a special needs school in Gaza with funds to purchase speech lab equipment.

The help will ensure that many children with hearing and speech problems will get treatment that would otherwise be unavailable to them.

The company, Mount of Olives, was established by well-known Galway-based activists Niall Farrell and Richard Kimball and re-invests the profits back into schools and youth projects in the West Bank and Gaza.

[Source] Click here to continue

Link to Us

Tags: charity, fairtrade, ireland, Olive Oil, palestine

Is your Olive Oil pure?

Olives101 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:16:33 +0000

By Judy Siegel-Itzkovich,

You may think you’re buying pure olive oil, but some suppliers are adulterating it with cheaper oils. Now the Bactochem lab in Nes Ziona (Israel) has developed a technique to identify olive oil that has been mixed with other oils, even at levels of only 5%.

Moshe Heller, who developed the technique, says it is based on the identification of a fatty acid. It measures the percentage of sigma sterol (that doesn’t exist in olive oil); if it’s present, it means the oil has been adulterated.

About 40% of the “olive oil” sold here is not authentic (in Israel).

[Source] Click here

Link to Us

Tags: fake, israel, Olive Oil

Olives101.com » Middle East

Iran interested in Croatian olive oil

Related Posts:

Related posts

Olive Oil Production Returns to Afghanistan

Related Posts:

Related posts

Olive Oil Spreads, an Healthy Substitute for Butter & Margarine

Related Posts:

Related posts

USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel

Related Posts:

Related posts

EMS and JOPEA hold an ‘Energy Saving Methods and Mechanisms in the Olive Sector seminar

Related Posts:

Related posts

BGU, Beduin make modern olive press

Related Posts:

Related posts

Lebanon, Sidon’s Khan al-Franj puts spotlight on olives

Related Posts:

Related posts

Rs 14 million olive plantation project launched in Khyber

Related Posts:

Related posts

PA Squeezes Out Millions of Dollars from Olive Harvest

Related Posts:

Related posts

Saudi Arabia: Al-Jouf to have an olive city

Related Posts:

Related posts

Pakistan on long road to olive farming

Related Posts:

Related posts

Lebanese Southern farmers flock to olive groves as harvest season kicks off

Related Posts:

Related posts

Jordan drought may claim thousands of olive trees

Related Posts:

Related posts

Galway fairtrade company helps special needs children in Gaza

Related Posts:

Related posts

Is your Olive Oil pure?

Related Posts:

Related posts