A consortium formed by an Asian investment fund, the Chinese
government and countless farmers, has launched a pilot operation which
consists on planting 1,000 hectares each year up to a total of
20,000hectares of olive trees.
Spain, the largest
producer of olive oil among the 47 olive producing countries in
the world, exports to over 160 countries; however, only 10% of olive oil
goes to
countries that are consumers only. Olive oil producing countries consume
more olive oil - consumption of olive oil is on average 7 times more
than
in a
countries that are consumers only.
Given these
figures, an appropriate strategy to promote the consumption
of olive oil in countries such as China and India
- which encompass more than 35% of the world population and where the
presence of olive oil until now was only testimonial - is possible
through enhancing and improving olive groves, and consequently
increasing the production of olive oil.
Recently we had the opportunity to travel
around the olive growing areas of China, located in the provinces of
Gansu, Shaanxi and in particular Sichuan, where the
geographical location has a suitable climate for olive crop
development. This is where a consortium was formed by an Asian investment
fund, the Chinese government and countless farmers - every Chinese
citizen holds the fifth of a hectare of crop-like surface - and has launched a
plantation of 70 hectares of irrigation super-frame olive grove with a 4 x 2
pattern as a pilot exploitation.
This olive grove plan has a time span of 2
decades, during which it is expected to plant about 1,000 hectares of olive trees per
year to reach 20,000 hectares.
As for the operation of the consortium, the fund will exploit the land
for 70 years as a lessee with the obligation to employ land holders, who
in turn, and given the size of the tiny groves, required to cooperate
with each other linking their farms to create a larger equivalent.
The
Chinese government, meanwhile, is responsible for coordinating the work
of all agencies and institutions involved, including agronomic
consultants.
The operation has already produced its first harvest last season, obtained from Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneki varieties.
Source : Mercacei, by Juan Vilar Hernández, CEO of GEA Westfalia Separator Ibérica