AMMAN - The Kingdom's olive industry will be on display in an international exhibition later this month.
The second International Olive Products and Technology Exhibition and Forum (IOTEX) will open on April 27 to showcase the latest developments in the olive sector and promote investment opportunities in the field.
The two-day event, organised by the Amman Chamber of Industry, the Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association (JOPEA) and Communication Craftsmen, will highlight efforts to implement the latest technologies in the olive sector and give local olive oil producers a chance to display their products, according to JOPEA Chairman Obada Kayyali.
Although Jordan ranks eighth regionally in olive production, the level of production is "relatively small" compared to top producers such as Tunisia and Spain, requiring greater efforts to enhance the value of olive products, he told The Jordan Times on Saturday.
"We should sell olive oil in smaller quantities rather than in bulk in order to focus on the quality and the packaging of the products," Kayyali added.
During a press conference yesterday to announce the exhibition, the second since 2008, Kayyali said the global financial crisis has forced some companies in the olive industry to reduce their advertising budgets and underlined the importance of IOTEX in promoting Jordanian olive products.
Several training courses will be held on the sidelines of the exhibition to acquaint participants on ways to collect, store and taste olives and olive oil, he added.
During the press conference, Musa Saket, a member of the Amman Chamber of Industry, said there are 20 million olive trees in Jordan with an annual production capacity of 130,000 tonnes. With 116 oil presses in the country, olive oil exports reached JD6 millions in 2009.
Around 76 oil production companies from Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey and Germany and Italy are expected to take part in the exhibition, which will be held at the Amman International Motor Show Centre.
Olive oil production from the 2009 harvest season increased by 48 per cent to 16,760 tonnes compared to 11,292 tonnes in 2008, according to the latest figures issued by the Department of Statistics (DoS).
The DoS report also showed that the Kingdom's total olive production increased by 30 per cent last year, reaching 135,000 tonnes compared with 94,000 tonnes in 2008.
According to official figures, the Kingdom's olive oil consumption stands around 24,000 tonnes annually, while the average annual per capita olive oil consumption is four kilogrammes, which is below the recommended level of around 10 kilogrammes.
By Laila Azzeh
© Jordan Times 2010
