2130 Olive Oil Supply vs Demand

[QUOTE=Sano]All the threads relating to olives - their care, harvest, pressing, etc has lead me to wonder - is the market for olives and olive oil still growing? Is it economically viable to invest in olives - planting new trees, etc?[/QUOTE]
The blunt answer is no.We produce our own olive oil .last year we had our best ever crop which resulted in 280 litres of oil.Just the "raccolta" lasted 10 days combining with the usual "winter" pruning, the laying out of the olives whilst we picked the others ( this assures they are dry and do not get mouldy before the harvesting is finished) then putting them in sacks taking them to the press,bringing back the oil and storing etc.The pruning during the spring as well as cleaning around them and putting down fertilizer takes a good few days too.If someone wants to take away a bottle of our oil we charge Euro 9.00 but at that price considering the cost of the pressing and ignoring all the work undertaken we make virtually nothing.Consider then that one can go to a local press or a supermarket and buy a litre of oil for between Euro 4.00 to 7.00.So you could say a labour of love definitely.We have over a hundred olives now.To get to any economic level would require thousands and a very large amount of land in fact a local "agronomo" was telling me that nowadays the ideal distance between olives should be 10 metres (this permits better aereation of the trees)Nevertheless if you have a bit of land maybe unsuitable for other cultivations and with a decent exposure to sun etc etc then there is nothing nicer than to see nicely cared for olive groves especially during the winter when everything is brown ,so it's a lousy investment but there's loads of love and satisfaction..:)

really only to say that the previous reply is dead on... we have many groves hereabouts where the older generation are unable to carry on and the younger do not wish to or have the time to... small groves... 100 or so trees... i help some of my neighbours and they give me oil... i have now too much ...so am passing it on to in laws... so dont ask for any... there is a certain benefit i would say in doing very high quality organic growing... but i would say apart from the agricultural/horticultural skills required... the marketing would be the most crucial part... i cannot remember the name of the place but have read about it in the press... an agriturismo...somewhere around atri/penne which is organic ...produces its own oil and sells it not only straight but with flavors... generally in small bottles at high prices... however this would require you having your own dedicated organic mill... there is one for sale just down the road from us... in fact we also have one in our house ...but we dont use it... and setting up a grove based on the organic standards... it would be a very long road to travel with not a lot of reward...

so as i said at the start sebastiano has it right... and his ending sentiments i would also agree with... they are very friendly looking trees