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<pre>At 15.05 28/02/04, you wrote:
>--- In OliveOil@yahoogroups.com, ZENOOIL@A... wrote:
> >
> > Dear Nigel:
> >
> > I don't believe that Spain produces 90% of the world's olive oil.
>Spain's crop this year is about 1.6 million tons, Italy, Greece,
>Turkey, Syria, Tunisia and Morocco are major producers, they produce
>anywhere from 400,000 ton to 150,000 tons.
> >
> > We are exporting large quantities from Syria to Italy and Spain in
>bulk, they bottle it and sell it as Italian and Spanish olive oil.
>
>and there you have it...

That's right, and the same is true for about half of Turkish
olive oil. The Greeks too sell a significant proportion to Italy
for eventual re-export. We've been through this issue two or
three times already on this list in recent months. The originaly
enquirer is invited to peruse the archives and do a basic search
on Google where he will find a plethora of useful and up-to-date
statistics among the first ten hits.

The crux of the matter is that the Italians stand head and
shoulders above the rest in terms of in terms of marketing organization
for the export of olive oil to the main consuming countries, which,
by the way, are starting to include India and perhaps also China,
opening a window of opportunity, however, also for South African
and Australian producers.

Buon lavoro,

Steve
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