Olive Varietals

Spain

The premier olive oil country in the world both in cultivated surface, as well as production of olive oil. Spain has 5.559.750 acres of olive groves, which produce an annual average of 650.000 tons of olive oil (approximately 710,000,000 litres).

The olive grove surface extends across almost one third of Spain's land. Almost all of the provinces bordering the Mediterranean have olive groves. Andalusia is the largest producing region with 50% of the cultivated land as well as almost 80% of the National production.

In Spain there is a long and diverse list of planted olive varieties. The following are the most important ones in terms of production.

Spanish Olive Varieties

Italy

Italy is the second country in olive oil production worldwide. There are currently 2.841.650 acres of olive groves being cultivated in Italy, which produce an average of 450.000 tons of olive oil every year (approximately 480.000.000 litres).
Olive tree cultivation practically exists over the entire geographical region of Italy, although the majority of the production is centred in Southern Italy as well as a few areas such as Tuscany, Umbria, and Imperia.

Italy has a very strong reputation within the olive oil industry as the premier exporter of olive oil, with a presence in the majority of International markets.

Similarly as with Spain, in Italy there are hundreds of different olive oil varieties, the primary ones being:

Italian Olive Varieties

Greece

Greece is the third largest producer of olive oil in the world. Olive trees are cultivated throughout the Mediterranean area of the mainland, the Jonico and Egeo seas, as well as on the island of Crete where olive groves extend throughout the entire inland. Crete is the Greek region with the highest production.

Greece has 1.853.250 acres of olive grooves in cultivation, with an average annual production of 350.000 tons of olive oil (approximately 3.745.000 litres of olive oil).

Within the existing Greek olive varieties a few stand out because of their importance and production and they are:

Greek Olive Varieties

France

In the global context of olive oil importance, France rates very low. There is some cultivation in the south by the Mediterranean where there is an olive producing surface of 49,420 acres with an annual production of 2.000 tons (2.2 million litres) of olive oil.

French Olive Varieties

Australia

About 9 million trees have been planted in Australia since 1992 and in 2004 the Australian olive industry produced about 2,500 tonnes of olive oil and in 2005 about 5,000 tonnes of olive oil and about 1,000 tonnes of table olives. By 2010 Australia could be producing 30,000 tonnes and may reach in excess of 40,000 tonnes of olive oil by about 2015 before production levels out. Therefore, by 2010, Australia should be producing as much olive oil as it currently imports. The majority of production in Australia is for Extra Virgin Olive Oil although that is only 25% of the current import market. However exports of Australian olive oil are rapidly increasing. In 2005 Australia exported 1,651 tonnes of olive oil, about 33% of current production, valued at about $9 million, more than triple that of 2004.

Australian Olive Varieties

South Africa

South Africa's production of around a million trees shows some limited expansion but is unlikely to become a significant producer and exporter by world standards. There is a significant increase in the number of South African extra virgin olive oil brands on local supermarket and delicatessen shelves although Morgenster is the only South African brand seen in the UK

The local olive market is thriving, with a 10% growth in demand each year for table olives, and 20% annually for oil.

South African consumes some 3000 tons of table olives and some 700 tons of olive oil annually. Approximately 40% of local production is sold as table olives, with the balance processed into olive oil.

The industry is almost 80 years old and experienced substantial growth in the 1990s as consumers became increasingly aware of the health benefits of olive consumption.

South African Olive Varieties