Olives may fight through drought

The drought may be taking its toll on South Australian farmers, but after visiting two of the driest countries in the world PIRSA’s John Fennell says our olive production has the potential to deliver through the drought.

John Fennell, PIRSA’s Principal Horticulturist, joined nine national olive industry members, including South Australian tour leader Steve Pantelos and Two Wells grower Robin Trevilyan during November to explore two of the world’s largest olive producers in Morocco and Spain.

The study tour, supported by Olives SA, included visits to primitive, traditional and modern processing plants, machinery manufacturers and the International Olive Council headquarters in Madrid.

“We even saw olives being cultivated in the Saharan Oases, which is a good sign for South Australian growers who are currently facing drought conditions,” John said.

“We visited several major olive production areas. And on occasions had more olive trees in view, particularly in the area around Jaen in Spain which can be quite dry, than that which exists in the whole of Australia.”

Confident that Australia, and in particular South Australia, is well placed for future growth and expansion John says the trip enabled tour members to understand the structures required for the industry to thrive globally.

“The widespread existence of olive grower cooperatives was a key strategy for meeting demand in Spain and Morocco,” he said.

“This collaboration between smaller processors enabled effective local and global trading of large volumes of oil, which the Australian and South Australian olive industry will need to adopt in order to increase production.

“With the development of effective supply chain structures that maximise cost efficiency and the fact that olives are efficient users of water, South Australia will continue to be a good place to grow olives.”

Promoting the health benefits of olive oil will be a major driver for growth, but John says Australia will need to put in place audit processes to back up the authenticity of its oils if the industry is to be really successful.

“Australia produces some of the best quality oil in the world, but we need to be able to formally recognise this level of ‘quality’ on a global level and create a point of differentiation,” he said.

John Fennell and Steve Pantelos overlooking the olive groves in Spain

John Fennell and Steve Pantelos overlooking the olive groves in Spain.