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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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Olive traders from 12 countries flocked to the recently concluded International Olive Products and Technology Exhibition and Forum (IOTEX 2008) at the Amman Motor Show to develop a cooperative spirit, exchange expertise and put the international olive industry on a higher pedestal.
Around 100 merchants from Jordan, Palestine, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Italy, Greece, France Turkey, Cyprus, [...]

By Malcolm Moore,
Police in Italy have arrested 23 people and confiscated 85 farms in an operation that has exposed the scale of the country’s fraudulent olive oil trade.
More than 400 officers took part in Operation Golden Oil after an investigation discovered as many as 91 people may have been involved in passing off low quality [...]

By Andrea Bennett,
When Clifford C. Graber first came here from Indiana, he lived in a tent on his land.
He built his house and planted citrus trees as the burgeoning industry that would later define the region was catching on more than a century ago.
It was a different fruit, though, that would occupy Graber’s interest, delight [...]

Turkish olive and olive oil exporters examine factories in the Spanish cities of Madrid, Seville and Cordoba that meet 51 percent of total global demand for olive oil, and hold meetings with representatives of the Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association, the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and prominent olive and olive oil producers in the [...]

By Martin Watters,
A LARA-based olive oil giant could become Australia’s top farm exporter eights months on from bracing for a potential $5 million disaster.
Boundary Bend limited is an agribusiness national finalist at this year’s Australian Export Awards after recently clinching the Victorian title.
The firm was Australia’s largest extra virgin olive oil supplier and the country’s [...]

U.S. agri-business Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] has signed a joint venture with Spanish cooperative Hojiblanca to source, trade and supply up-market and bulk olive oil, the companies said on Tuesday. In a joint statement, the companies said the partnership would strengthen Cargill’s involvement in premium olive oil to compliment its presence in the sunflower, rapeseed, soy, [...]

According to estimates of the Foreign Trade Institute of Spain, United States consumes about 170,000 tons of olives annually, which accounts for over half a kilo per habitant. That could be explained because of the higher conscience of Americans about healthy products as well as the new preferences for exotic products. Therefore, olives are consumed [...]

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On Thursday, the East Coast Olive Oil Corporation celebrated its grand opening at Rome’s Griffiss Park. The company, originally based in Utica, is part of the number one private label olive oil supplier in the world.
A new 185-square foot facility is home to more than 150 employees and that number is expected to increase.
Officials said [...]

RABAT (Reuters) - Moroccan cooking oil producer Lesieur Cristal said on Friday its first-half profit tumbled as world prices for its raw materials rose and olive oil exports slipped.
Net income fell to 11 million dirhams in the first six months of the year from 44 million a year earlier, the unit of Moroccan conglomerate ONA [...]

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 [...]

By Stevie Ipsen,
CORNING - Though the town of Corning is not a large one, the streets of the Olive City seemed as deserted as a ghost town as people entered the city on Saturday - that is until they drove toward Woodson City Park, where not a parking spot could be found for blocks.
The 18th [...]

By Ramona Frances,
Unlike other commodities in Madera County, the fruit from olive-bearing orchards will not lead to a “bumper” crop this year. The price may be good, but this year’s yields aren’t as impressive.
“Some of the trees are looking good (this year), others don’t have anything on them at all,” said grower Jim Erickson said [...]

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 Ching Lee,
California olive growers are expecting excellent prices for this year’s crop, which is projected to be 112,000 tons, up considerably from last year’s 16,800 tons.
After a disastrous crop in 2006, California table olive growers are poised to receive some of the highest prices ever for their fruit this year, but many fear growers [...]

If good growing weather continues and there’s enough irrigation water, the Central Valley olive crop could be more than six times larger than last year’s.
California’s olive crop this year will produce about 112,000 tons, growers estimate.
Last year the trees yielded a meager 16,800 tons.
However, water is becoming an issue in olive groves south of the [...]

Olove natural olive snacks in stand-up foil bags are a healthy alternative to crisps that will be available in a similar range of flavours.
The concept, developed over four years in Barcelona, won the Fresh Ideas award at the 2007 London IFE and is suitable for fine bars and pubs and healthy vending.
Olove offers Black Aragon [...]

By Melanie Cleveland,
One of four franchises of the Paso Robles based gourmet shop is slated to open later this month in downtown San Luis Obispo, and its owners hope its prime location translates to healthy sales
We Olive, a gourmet shop specializing in olives and olive-related products, will open in San Luis Obispo later this month. [...]

Sos Cuetara SA expects a record olive oil harvest in 2007-2008, against a medium-term backdrop which does not anticipate any surprise negative factors weighing on earnings, chairman Jesus Salazar said.
In an interview with Thomson Financial News, Salazar said: Next year’s (olive oil) harvest is very, very good It’ll probably be a record. In the medium [...]