<table border=0 cellpadding=2 cellspacing="0"><tr><td>
<pre>Yes the Capezzana in Boston was a 750 ml bottle. I think it was a bargain.


Australian growers do face a dilema. Should they compete with
imports or go for quality? Can they compete in either market?

Now to put the cat among the pigeons!!

The current price of imported oil into Australia (Australian Bureau
of Statistics figures) is about $AUS 5 a litre. A great deal of this is
bottled. Some is good quality extravergine etc so a competetive bulk price
for third grade "olive oil" would be $AUS 4 or less. The grower needs to
pay the frantoio for processing - say $AUS 250 per tonne of olives or
between $1 to 1.5 per litre. This leaves a net price to the grower at the
grove gate of under $AUS 3. That sounds grim to me.

Of course it will have to be mechanical picking but even that
costs money (low labour costs are offset by high capital costs and a short
picking season) and there are many other costs as well. I hope for the sake
of the growers that have invested millions that they can make a profit but
it will be tough.

These are the prices being offered to Tunisian growers. They have
low labour costs but all the operations are done by hand. They are finding
it difficult to make a profit.

If the Australian growers go for quality they have other problems.

* First they need to plant quality varieties but many have not.
They believe they can make a "Sauvignon blanc" oil from "sultanas". I hope
they are right but no one else has done so. Quality varieties will yield
less than the bulk varieities but how much less?

* They also have the problem of picking. Given the hot climate
early picking will be absolutely essential for flavour. Early picking will
reduce yield if it is done by machine and you may get less than 20% oil.

How the figures stack up I don't know but growers should run lower
yielding varieties, less recovery and lower oil percentages through their
spreadsheets and see what comes out.

Having made a dash for quality will the price justify the lower
output? If the oil is a "supermarket" extravergine selling at about $AUS7 a
litre retail the higher price may simply compensate for the yield reduction
and profits might be the same. To get a significantly higher price it must
be a premium oil - something better than just extravergine.

Well this should provoke a flurry or is it a "shower" of emails
from Australia and perhaps NZ.

Cheers Brian Chatterton.
</pre>
</td></tr></table>