AMMAN -- Forty local and international companies in the olive industry are scheduled to take part in the third International Olive Products and Technology Exhibition (JOPTEX) which will be held in Amman later this month.
Olive producing and exporting companies and olive technology suppliers from Jordan, Italy, Palestine, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt will showcase their products at JOPTEX, which will be held at King Hussein Sports City from April 24 to 26, according to organisers.
During a press conference yesterday at the Amman Chamber of Industry (ACI), members of the steering committee of JOPTEX, which is organised by the Jordan Olive Products Exporters Association (JOPEA), explained that the annual exhibition aims at promoting Jordan's "high quality" olive products locally, regionally and internationally.
Mohammad Jazi, head of the steering committee and vice president of JOPEA, noted that official delegations from Libya, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, Spain and the United Arab Emirates will visit the exhibition, which is held every two years to draw international attention to the country's fast-growing olive industry.
In an interview with The Jordan Times, Jazi noted that Turkish and Italian companies participating in JOPTEX will showcase the latest technologies in olive production, including olive presses, pitting and stuffing machines, and olive saplings.
He added that the firms participating in the fair represent international and regional organisations such as the International Olive Council (IOC), pointing out that JOPTEX is also meant to promote mutual investment among member states of the Agadir Agreement.
A JOPEA statement told The Jordan Times that IOC Executive Director Jean-Louis Barjol will attend the two-day exhibition.
ACI council member Musa Saket was quoted in the statement as saying that Jordan is the world's eighth largest producer of olive oil, with 20 million olive trees generating around 130,000 tonnes of olives and 25,000 tonnes of olive oil annually.
The volume of investment in the olive sector stands at around JD1 billion, according to Saket, who pointed out that the industry supports around 180,000 families.
© Jordan Times 2012
