Olives101.com

Americans are consuming two million litres of Australian olive oil annually.
The startling statistic was revealed as part of a media briefing on Australian Extra Virgin - the new brand the Australian Olive Association (AOA) is hoping will help the industry grow across the globe.
“America’s kitchens are now using a quarter of Australia’s annual olive [...]

Comvita plans to issue a $8-$12 million share placement to cover the $23 million purchase of Olive Products Australia Pty, a grower and manufacturer of complementary medical products.
Olive Products, based near Brisbane, has developed a system to extract active compounds from olive tree leaves for use in therapeutic products. The business includes a 500,000 [...]

A small business which manufactures olive harvesters has moved from Queensland to Boort.
The council is helping it find a new location, so it can expand to cater for growth in the olive industry nationwide and overseas.
Loddon council chief executive John McLinden says there are extensive plantings in the Boort area and olive oil production is [...]

By Kerry Coleman,
In 1820, a grove of olive trees was planted in Cranebrook by the wife of infamous convict Samuel Terry.
Last week, Penrith council chopped down all of the nearly 200-year-old heritage-listed trees.
Elderly Cranebrook resident Shirley Tesoriero was very fond of the trees that sat off Soling Crescent, near Boundary Road.
“I’d read about them in [...]

Already known for their award-winning wines, Waiheke Island’s Cable Bay Vineyards have now scooped an international plaudit for their extra virgin olive oil.
Competing against olive oils from all over the world - including traditional Mediterranean olive-growing countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal - Cable Bay’s 2006 Extra Virgin Olive Oil won a gold [...]

Tasmanian olive oil producers are struggling to meet demand this year, with a cold snap cutting yields.
Widespread frosts have been reported, with some areas recording a record run of frosty nights.
While harvest is not over, early expectation have oil yields down by half in some areas.
Producer Anne Ashbolt says drought stressed trees are not coping.
“We [...]

By Rebekah Burgess,
A WAIRARAPA olive oil producer has become the only one worldwide to gain three gold medals in the main section of an international competition announced on Sunday.
Ruakokoputuna Olives won three golds at the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, which included a total Wairarapa medal haul of nine from four producers.
Martinborough-based [...]

A major olive industry expo will be held just west of Brisbane later this month.
The 2007 Queensland Olive Expo is a three-day olive event which will be held at Woodlands of Marburg, just outside of Brisbane, on June 16-19.
Hosted by The Olive Centre in conjunction with the Queensland Olive Council, this event is open to [...]

Broadcaster, author, writer, star-dancer and journalist – now Paul Holmes adds olive oil maker to his colourful CV. Holmes has just released his own exclusive range of olive oils, pressed from fruit grown on his Hawke’s Bay property Mana Lodge.

The energetic Mr Holmes is producing two varieties of award-winning oil, Leccino and Frantoio. They are [...]

By Bernard Carpinter,
The continuing drought in Hawke’s Bay is driving farmers to despair – but is excellent news for olive growers.
While pastoral farmers are suffering, olive growers are celebrating large quantities, top quality and increased prices for their 2007 harvest.
“The quality of the olives coming off the trees at the moment is quite simply outstanding,” [...]

RMIT University researchers have described the promising cardioprotective effects of an Australian olive leaf extract at the American Heart Association’s 7th Annual Conference in Denver, USA.
Indu Singh, who led the RMIT research team, said the olive extract reduced blood platelet aggregation in laboratory investigations.
“Polyphenols from this olive leaf extract significantly inhibited platelet aggregation in the [...]

Olive growers are restructuring their national and state bodies, so they have a single voice to lobby government.
Until now, the Australian Olive Association has not been legally able to represent state councils.
Growers say it will make olive growing a mainstream agribusiness industry after being considered a niche sector.
Eberhard Kunze from the Victorian Olive Council says [...]

Olive trees are being used to clean-up former mining land contaminated with heavy metals at Broken Hill, in far western New South Wales.
The trees are about to produce their first vintage of olive oil and those involved in the project are confident the oil will be free of contaminants.
Doctor Steve Flecknoe-Brown from the Broken Hill [...]

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has delayed by one year its plan to dump tax breaks for non-forestry managed investment schemes.
The Federal Government last month announced the ATO was changing its interpretation of laws that allowed people investing in crops such as olives, wine and avocadoes to claim upfront tax breaks.
The new interpretation will mean [...]

A farmer south of Alice Springs says he has the good oil on the next horticultural crop for the Territory.
Oak Valley has pressed the Territory’s first batch of olive oil after trialing a 400 kilogram crop.
Farm manager Robert Le Rossignol says while he is starting small, he hopes it will become their main product.
“We’re still [...]

By Paul Edwards,
AUSTRALIA’S fast-growing olive industry is coming to grips with the reality that it’s one thing to grow fruit but quite another to make money from it.
Competing for the consumer dollar against cheap European imports is tough - and together with buyer reluctance to buy more expensive brands, there is supermarket resistance to cluttering [...]

‘ollo’ award-winning Australian extra virgin olive oils arrive on shelves in UK
Two new award-winning Australian Extra Virgin Olive Oils, from the family which built one of the Southern Hemisphere’s largest horticultural companies, have arrived at Sainsbury Supermarkets just as they scoop yet another accolade from industry giants. ollo Fresh & Fruity was last week presented [...]

Australian EVOO Selected for Best Chemical Composition at Inaugural ARMONIA Event
The premiere International Olive Oil Competition, ARMONIA, is a result of collaboration between Instituto Sperimentale per l’Olivicoltura (Olive Research Institute), ALMA—the International School of Italian Cooking and the Italian Academy of Cooking to promote the knowledge and appreciation of healthful and nutritional properties of high [...]

By Nassim Khadem
Photo: Andrew Taylor
ROB McGavin, the chief executive of Australia’s largest olive oil producer, Boundary Bend, says his is just one of many rural companies that could fold if managed investment schemes in agribusiness are scrapped.
He was in Canberra yesterday fighting to save his business, and shocked at the Federal Government announcement that the [...]

By Philip Johnson,
JUST as the quality of olives can vary from year to year, so too can the quality of olive oil.
I’ve recently sampled quite a few olive oils from around the country which I found quite fascinating, firstly due to the sheer volume of oil now being produced in Australia, but also to be [...]

By Sydia Littza Amirul Ihsan,
One afternoon, Australian beauty brand Aesop decides to launch its olive oil — good for such culinary uses as marinating or dipping of breads. While many may ask ’Why?’ Its reply is, ’Why not?’.
BEAUTY is never ever skin-deep. The recipe to beautiful skin goes beyond washing, toning and moisturising. It includes [...]

Australia has the ideal conditions for growing and processing table olives. In a climate where the majority of table olives eaten by Australians are imported, real opportunities exist for a domestic table olive industry. Attention to quality and safety will ensure that Australian table olive producers are in a position to tackle and make inroads [...]

A Doubtless Bay couple who knew nothing about growing olives five years ago are now producing olive oil that ranks among the country’s best.
Colin and Lynette Wilson won a silver medal at the New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards last year for their Hihi Olive Estate 2005 Koroneiki olive oil.
This year, the Wilsons won [...]

The Olives New Zealand Sensory Panel for Olive Oil Up With the Best in the World
The International Olive Council (IOC) has just announced that the Olives New Zealand Sensory Panel has been accredited for 2006 / 2007.
“The panel first gained accreditation in December 2005 and to maintain it is a major achievement given that there [...]

Yellingbo, a nature reserve in southern Australia, is adjacent to olive groves that Howard Meltzer planted more than 10 years ago. Mr. Meltzer and his son, Jeremy, are now selling Yellingbo Gold oils from the 2006 harvest that will hold their own when drizzled on fish or vegetables. The unfiltered black label Limited Release version [...]