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<pre>A few days ago I had my first olives harvest: about 300 kilograms; not bad if
you consider that my orchard is only 5 years old and frost (-16°) practically
destroyed all my 500 plants in 1996 .The oil yield was only 11%. By these
preliminaries let me do some brief reflections on my account book.

I spent Lit 270.000 for refuelling, Lit 36.000 for fly-traps, Lit 82.000 for the
mill : total=Lit 388.000 ($US 206). Each bottle and label will cost 1 more $US.
It means my oil cost me $US 7.2 a liter.

But you should consider I cut drastically down my expenses working completely on
my own. I had no pruning cost ($US 400), no harvesting cost (the pickers get
paid in olives, they get normally 50% of the harvest), no ploughing costs;
moreover I had no fertilizers and no spraying copper costs as I'm testing
biological agriculture and I had not parasitic problems.

Include the above adjunctive costs and calculate by yourself the cost of one
liter of oil.

In this circumstances I'm obliged to compete in quality. Since I have a
specialized orchard I will have some chances to sell profitably only if I
produce biological and DOP oil.

Anyway let me say I'm really perplexed about the oil low prices in supermakets
(even $US 3 !!! in Italy).

Any comments ?

Antonio

----------
http://www.geocities.com/~gianno
janoant@tin.it
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<pre>Dear Antonio,
It's interesting that olive oil is priced so low in Italy (I did not know
this fact). Here in the U.S., good quality olive oil -- or what is
"perceived" to be "good quality olive oil" -- is EXTREMELY expensive. It is
considered a luxury item, on par with fine wines and other specialty items.
(I'm not talking about the oils sold in mass quantities in our supermarkets,
but even they are not always that cheap). Unfortunately, most consumers here
cannot distinguish between high-grade oil (as what I have already seen
discussed by our List members) and those of poor quality using almost
deceptive practices to create the "illusion" of superior oil. So, as long
as the bottle is fancy bearing a pretty picture -- they will pay almost any
price. Most people here have done no research about the olive oil industry,
and are easily satisfied with inferior products, simply because they do not
know enough to appreciate the distinctions. The fancy names of the olive
oil also have a "snob appeal". Perhaps, in Italy, people have grown to view
olive oil as just another staple (like bread), which only serves to keep
prices low, while here, people are only slowly being introduced to the
advantages of olive oil over inferior fats, and in a rush to become healthy,
have driven up demand. Oh, yes -- any olive oil marked "biological" or
"organic" demands an even higher price premium.

Best of luck to you. Keep us abreast of your progress!
Anna



>From: Antonio Giannò <janoant@tin.it>
>Reply-To: OliveOil@onelist.com
>To: "OliveOil" <OliveOil@onelist.com>
>Subject: [OliveOil] first harvest- costs
>Date: Sun, 14 Nov 1999 13:11:12 +0100
>
>A few days ago I had my first olives harvest: about 300 kilograms; not bad
>if you consider that my orchard is only 5 years old and frost (-16°)
>practically destroyed all my 500 plants in 1996 .The oil yield was only
>11%. By these preliminaries let me do some brief reflections on my account
>book.
>
>I spent Lit 270.000 for refuelling, Lit 36.000 for fly-traps, Lit 82.000
>for the mill : total=Lit 388.000 ($US 206). Each bottle and label will cost
>1 more $US. It means my oil cost me $US 7.2 a liter.
>
>But you should consider I cut drastically down my expenses working
>completely on my own. I had no pruning cost ($US 400), no harvesting cost
>(the pickers get paid in olives, they get normally 50% of the harvest), no
>ploughing costs; moreover I had no fertilizers and no spraying copper costs
>as I'm testing biological agriculture and I had not parasitic problems.
>
>Include the above adjunctive costs and calculate by yourself the cost of
>one liter of oil.
>
>In this circumstances I'm obliged to compete in quality. Since I have a
>specialized orchard I will have some chances to sell profitably only if I
>produce biological and DOP oil.
>
>Anyway let me say I'm really perplexed about the oil low prices in
>supermakets (even $US 3 !!! in Italy).
>
>Any comments ?
>
>Antonio
>
>----------
>http://www.geocities.com/~gianno
>janoant@tin.it
>
>
>
>[Attachments have been removed from this message]
>
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<pre>Antonio

The road ain't all that easy is it?

A few queries though. I assume you gained the olives from the same trees
nearly destroyed in 96 and yet the yield per tree was less than 1 kg/tree.
Seems light on to me. I visited a grove yesterday that is 4.5 years old and
it looks as though there will be around 3.5kg/tree.

I wonder also why you only gained 11% oil? What varieties do you have?

Regards

Caird
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<pre>Yes, Caird
I gained the olives from the same trees destroyed in 1996 . I'll send some
photo about then and now. I know it will be hard to believe it's the same
orchard.
Anyway, I have six cultivar: moraiolo, frantoio, pendolino, leccino,
maurino and some coratinas.
Why only 11% ? It's difficult to explain. Mr Volker Piasta wrote in his last
e-mail that in Toscana "this year the quantities are not very big due to a
very dry summer, but quality is very promising".
My farm is in Umbria, only 12 kms far from Toscana. In our region it rained
once in June, once in July and once in August (two centrimetres each time)
and both harvest and quality are exceptional but yield was lower than
usual.
My brother's old orchard gained 15%. He is my neighbour. But someone else
gained just from 7 to 9% !!
Probably my low yield is due to the age of the trees.

Dear Anna,
when olive oil is priced so low in Italy you can easily bet on its foreign
origin; it was only bottled in Italy. As it's impossible to compete in these
terms, it's my opinion that the only chance for small producers is referring
to a narrow circle of oil gourmets who are well disposed to buy quality as
"expansive" as I mean.

Ciao
Antonio
-----------------------------------
> From: "P Caird" <caird@netcon.net.au>
>
> Antonio
The road ain't all that easy is it?
A few queries though. I assume you gained the olives from the same trees
nearly destroyed in 96 and yet the yield per tree was less than 1 kg/tree.
Seems light on to me. I visited a grove yesterday that is 4.5 years old and
it looks as though there will be around 3.5kg/tree.
I wonder also why you only gained 11% oil? What varieties do you have?
Regards
Caird
--------------
From: "Anna Maksic" <russiandoll@hotmail.com>

Dear Antonio,
It's interesting that olive oil is priced so low in Italy (I did not know
this fact). Here in the U.S., good quality olive oil -- or what is
"perceived" to be "good quality olive oil" -- is EXTREMELY expensive.
</pre>
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