Olives and Olive Oil - Tropical and Subtropical Fruits: Postharvest Physiology, Processing and Packaging - page 489

Table 26.3. Leading processed olives and virgin olive oil exporting and importing countries, by quantity
(metric tons).

Preserved Olives Virgin Olive Oil

Exporters 2009 Importers 2009 Exporters 2009 Importers 2009

Spain 380,435 USA 132,461 Spain 660,694 Italy 467,076

Greece 90,512 Russian Federation 99,147 Italy 293,389 USA 260,082

Argentina 80,056 Brazil 72,559 Tunisia 141,688 France 113,926

Turkey 65,494 Italy 62,518 Greece 88,399 Portugal 66,561

Morocco 64,758 Germany 53,618 Portugal 36,928 United Kingdom 57,986

Egypt 37,090 France 44,493 Turkey 29,685 Germany 54,177

Peru 31,082 Bulgaria 30,090 Argentina 18,951 Spain 48,211

Netherlands 17,585 United Kingdom 25,548 Egypt 18,595 Brazil 44,648

Portugal 16,407 Canada 23,497 Syria 7,090 Japan 39,704

Italy 11,191 Australia 16,220 Australia 6,764 Canada 31,041

Germany 6,689 Netherlands 15,563 USA 5,386 Australia 30,746

Belgium 6,121 Romania 15,364 Belgium 5,224 Morocco 16,856

Source: FAO (2011).

processed and consumed as table olives (Civantos, 2008b).
Figures 26.2 and 26.3 show the changes in worldwide olive
oil and table olive production and consumption between the
2003-2004 and 2008-2009 harvests, as per International
Olive Oil Council data (IOC, 2010b). Annual variation is
greater for production than for consumption, but we can
observe a logical balance between the two figures (Civan-
tos, 2008b). The EU stands out as both the largest producer
and the largest consumer of olive products. Out of the mean
worldwide yield of olive oil between the 2002-2003 and
2008-2009 harvests, estimated at 2.8 million metric tons,
75.8% came from the EU. Spain had the highest production
(1.1 million metric tons; 51.5% of EU production) and Italy
the highest consumption (0.8 million metric tons; 39.7% of
EU consumption). As for table olives, the EU produced
36.3% of the world's mean total, estimated at 1.9 million
metric tons, closely followed by Egypt with 15.4%. Spain
leads both production (0.5 million metric tons; 71.4% of
the EU total) and consumption (0.2 million metric tons;
34.4% of the EU total) of table olives. Olive products are
consumed in the highest amounts in olive-producing coun-
tries, although there has been an increased consumption in
non-olive-producing countries in recent years.

tain the characteristics of these initially selected cultivars
which constituted the first olive varieties. Repeating this
procedure, which can involve cultivar diffusion, hybridiza-
tion, descendant selection, and cloning, has given rise to
a large variety of native cultivars created by chance in all
of the different olive oil-producing regions of the world
(Barranco, 2008).
Close to 1,500 olive cultivars are cataloged throughout
the world, although some are the same cultivar under a
different denomination (Barranco et al., 2000). Cultivated
olive trees are classified into three categories according
to the use given to their fruits: table olive processing, oil
extraction, or both purposes, also called double or dual-use
cultivars.
According to the data reported by the International Olive
Council (IOC) (Barranco et al., 2000), the use and some
of the morphologic, agronomic, and technological charac-
teristics of the main olive cultivars (fruit weight, resistance
to biotic factors, fat yield, and facility for mechanical
harvesting and pitting) are shown in Table 26.4. Principal
diseases of olive trees that affect production are repilo,
caused by the mushroom Spilocaea oleagina, verticilosis,
produced by Verticillium dahliae, and tuberculosis, caused
by the bacteria Pseudomonas syringae pv. savastoni.
Of the 262 olive cultivars grown in Spain, 24 are classi-
fied as main varieties, occupying a considerable geographic
area or dominant in at least one region. Only four varieties
make up 60% of the olives grown, and one, the 'Picual'
variety, with more than 700,000 ha cultivated, produces

Varieties
The first olive growers in each of the wild olive's areas
of origin selected the very best individual trees according
to productivity, fruit size, oil content and adaptation to the
environment. Vegetative propagation has been able to main-