Olive oil producers seek Chinese, Indian buyers

MADRID (AFP) - A global body representing olive producers based in Madrid said yesterday it planned to launch marketing campaigns in China and India to promote the consumption of olive oil in the two emerging markets.

The International Olive Council will launch the promotional campaign in India in September and in China next year, its president Habib Essid told a news conference in the Spanish capital.

In India, olive oil is used mostly for manufacturing medicines and cosmetics and consumption remains very small. Palm oil is preferred for cooking.

India, a nation of over one billion people, currently consumes just 2,500 tonnes of olive oil per year, but Essid said the potential existed to greatly increase exports of the product to the increasingly affluent country.

"There are 200 million Indians who are potential buyers of olive oil," he said.

Consumption of olive oil is on the rise around the world because of its reputation as a key part of a healthy Mediterranean diet, he said.

Some three million tonnes of olive oil were produced during the 2006-07 season, according to the figures from the International Olive Council.

Spain is the world's biggest producer of olive oil, with production of 1.1 million tonnes in the 2006-07 season.

Italy is the world's second-biggest producer with 650,000 tonnes, followed by Greece with 450,000 tonnes.

Syria, Tunisia and Turkey each produce about 150,000 tonnes of olive oil per season.

Production of olive oil is expected to reach 3.3 million tonnes in the 2007-08 season thanks to the abundant rain which fell in Spain, Italy and Greece during the first half of the year, said Essid.

The United States, Japan, Brazil and Australia are the biggest net importers of olive oil while Italy and Spain are the world's biggest consumers.

The International Olive Council, set up in 1959, is a non-profit trade and marketing association whose purpose is to promote the growing of olives and the production of olive oil.