3 - Olive Oil in the World Market

Abstract

As a commodity, olive oil has been and is still playing an important role in the world market of vegetable oils. Albeit a small share in world edible vegetable oils, less than 3.5 %, it has for centuries dominated the countries of the Mediterranean basin, which account for nearly 98% of the olive oil and table olives world production. The agronomic and climatic factors characteristic only to the Mediterranean Basin provided the necessary conditions for the development of such a significant olive oil and table olives sector. The available statistical data constitute a valuable source of information but two preliminary remarks should be taken into account. Firstly, the official data of production in the E.U. countries are determined according to the quantities eligible for the subsidy given to the producer. Official production data determine the quantities put down as consumption since after taking into account the import and export data of every country the balance must close. In the long run, the olive oil supply is affected by a number of structural factors, which are pointed out in this chapter. World consumption follows a parallel path with that of world production but with less marked fluctuations. The approach focuses on five different groups of countries. Comparisons between olive oil and other vegetable oils bring out some factors that are discussed in the chapter.