Production and olive oil marketing 2007

This year, the national production of olive oil is in an estimated decline of 10% compared to the last year. It is a bit higher than 5 million quintals, as an effect of the severe summer drought, even if the weather conditions prior to the harvesting were favorable assuring very good oil quality and yields higher than average.
It should be emphasized as new in 2007, the publication of the Decree on the obligation to indicate the origin of olives used in virgin and extra virgin oil in the Official Journal n.243, on October 18th. The Decree mandates that on the packaging of virgin and extra-virgin olive oil it has to be obligatorily indicated: the state in which the olives were harvested, and where the olive press, in which the oil was extracted, is located. All this, within three months of publication, in order to label new harvests in transparency. With the coming into effect of the Decree, therefore, if the olives were produced in various countries, these will have to be indicated, and for offenders .... fines, up to 9,500 euro.
Experts emphasize that in the first six months of the year 2007, there has been an increase of 30% of the arrival of the foreign olive oil, especially from Spain, Tunisia and Greece.
In Italy, the second European producer of olive oil with 38 designations (PDO/PGI) recognized by the European Union, estimated national consumption is 14 kg per person with a clear preference for the extra virgin oil, for which there is an increase in purchases of 1, 4% while the average retail prices were basically stable compared to the last year (- 0, 5%) on the basis of the ISMEA Ac Nielsen data related to the first eight months of the 2007.