California Olive Oil
News^©
A Publication of The Olive Oil Source  

Volume 5 Issue 6

June 2002

Olive Oils of the World Competition at the Los Angeles County Fair

Olive Oil Production in Turkey

Turkey has been in the news lately because of regional politics. It borders Iraq, Iran and as a long time NATO member, it has supported the campaign in Afghanistan. It is one of the major world olive oil producers but oil of a different kind has hurt its economy. Previously much of Iraq's petroleum flowed through Turkey but support of UN sanctions have dried up this supply, resulting in high fuel prices. Tourism, which normally accounts for 1/3 of state revenues, has been way down since Sept 11. Turkey is a mostly moderate Muslim country with a free democratic government which has found itself torn between supporting other Muslim countries, NATO, the US and the EU.

Tourism and agricultural exports are two important parts of the Turkish economy

US customs reports that from 20 to 40% of oil imported into the US is listed as originating in Turkey. Turkey is the third largest US supplier after Italy and Spain. These figures may be misleading as it is not unknown for Turkish oil to be blended with other Mediterranean oils, bottled in Italy and sold under that country's label.

A representative display of Turkish oils in a small store

Turkey is one of the top 5 olive oil exporters worldwide along with Spain, Italy, Greece, Morocco and Tunisia. Turkey's olive oil production was estimated at 180,000 metric tons last year, product of 897,000 ha of orchards.

Turkey also grows over 200,000 metric tons of table olives, most of which are consumed locally. The predominant black style olive is the Gemlik variety and is ubiquitous, showing up at breakfast as an appetizer or "meze" before dinner.

Turkish labeled oil is rare on U.S. retail shelves. When it is seen, it usually has an Italian sounding label. Most Turkish oil sales are through the bulk market. The Olive Oil Source sells 55 gallon drums of extra virgin Turkish olive oil on the U.S. West coast for around $600 compared to $1000 for a similar California oil. Turkish oil is of good quality and is widely used in the U.S. processed food industry.

Higher profits are made by bringing oil directly to the retail shelf so the Turkish government is encouraging that with ongoing promotions. Like Spain and other producers, Turkey is tired of selling wholesale to the Italians and want their oil to gain popularity under its own merit. While Turkey formerly sold to only 5 or 6 countries, it now exports directly to over 60. It it aggressively courting the burgeoning Russian market and exports to Australia and Japan.

The newsletter staff recently took a tour of the primary oil producing regions of Turkey. It is hard to find a vista in Turkey which does not include an olive tree but they are especially plentiful along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. The western area of the country abutting the Sea of Marmara is heavily cultivated in oil olives.

Our tour of the coastal growing areas started in the city of Antalya on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey. This region is dominated by the Taurus mountains. Ski slopes are an hour from the sunny beaches of this ancient city. The Greeks planted olives and colonized this coast displacing the Hittities who displaced even earlier paleolithic peoples living in the Karian caves nearby.

Every vista has olive trees, sometimes a ruin or two also.

Olive Oil history here goes way back. At the ruins of the Greek city at Termessos 5,000 feet high in the mountains, cisterns holding water and olive oil helped the city rebuff a siege by Alexander the Great.

The Turks eat close to the ideal "Mediterranean diet" with lots of fruit and vegetables, fish and nuts and seeds for snacks. Olive Oil and olives are a necessary part of every daily meal.  Breakfast may be cucumbers, tomato wedges, a few olives and a feta type cheese or a slice of flakey cheese pastry called boregi made with olive oil.  For main meals,  there is a choice of many vegetable dishes of eggplant, broad beans or tomato stewed in olive oil.

Fish is plentiful but expensive.  It is usually grilled or fried in olive oil.  Every port city has  its fleet of tiny fishing boats and weekend fisherman can be seen on breakwaters and bridges catching small anchovy sized fish.  These little ones are fried at stands on the street and put onto crunchy French bread with tomato as an alternative to the ever present lamb or chicken kebob shops.

Fishing and tourist boats in the medieval port of Antalya

The olive has worked its way into local lore as in other Mediterranean countries. At the fluted minaret in the old section of Antalya grows an ancient olive tree said to enclose the grave of a wise muezzin. Custom has it that if you write a request on a piece of paper, wrap it in an olive leaf and leave it in the hollow trunk, the wish will be granted.

Ancient groves can be picked out in areas, some totally overgrown, others recently renovated. Semi-circular stone walls held a bit of soil against the trees on the steep slopes. Goats and sheep could be seen keeping sucker growth down.
 

School kids eat their lunch in an olive orchard after visiting the ruins of Pergamun's medical center of Asclepion, home of Galen

In some areas rows of olive trees are alternated with figs, tobacco or grapes. Being a muslin country, the grapes mostly end up as raisins (sultanas) rather than wine.

Young tobacco plants between olive rows

There are only a few olive varietals found throughout this country. When a local is asked what the variety is, the response was usually, "oil kind" or "table kind". Even many growers did not seem to know their specific variety, the fact that the trees were the same as the kind that their great-great grandfather harvested was enough.

According to more specific sources the Memecik variety represents 50% of the trees long the Aegean and Mediterranean coast and 45% of the total acreage in the country. It has a high yield of a good quality oil and can be used for pickling. Ayvalik is the second most important variety representing 25% of olive trees along the Aegean coast and 19% of the country's total acreage. Its erect habit is suitable for mechanical harvesting, has a high yield, and produces a good quality oil.

Driving west along the Mediterranean one passes the ancient Greco-Roman cities of Phaselis, Myra and Xanthos. Along the steep rocky coastline feral olives are everywhere, wedging their way between basaltic slabs. In some areas they seem to be the major shrub/tree.

In nearby inland river valleys where soil is richer and water more available, orchards are more rigorously cared for and denser. Most of the trees we saw were very full, with minimal pruning. New orchards are being planted but with Turkish varieties with 15 foot spacing. Older trees 12 feet in circumference and tall enough to require tall ladders for harvesting were not uncommon.

Unused old stone mills have been dragged out to the side of the road to advertise small restaurants.  More modern mills were quiet during our off-season visit.

In the Izmir area the Memeli variety is common. Yields of 20% of a good quality oil are common. There are also about 1,300,000 trees of the Cekiste variety in this region.

The area around the Sea of Marmara is oneof the most intensive areas of olive cultivation. 80% of trees are the Gemlik variety which is dual-purpose. It has a high oil content (29%) and is used for green and black pickling. Many of the orchards are small but their conglomerate production keeps over 500 continuous mills operating during the harvest season. Mechanical harvesting is rare. Drip irrigation was seen, usually on newly planted orchards. The Turks know about intensive cultivation; greenhouses abound where tomatoes, cucumbers and beans are nurtured for the domestic market and export.

Small farmers sell unlabelled bottles of oil in local stores and on the side of the road along with local honey and fresh produce. Oil prices are less than in the U.S. but more expensive than local seed oils. Turkish sunflower oil is heavily promoted and is slowly eating into the domestic olive oil market.

Roadside display of olive oil and honey

In the crusader castle at Bodrum is an interesting display of amphora excavated by underwater archeologists from Turkey and Texas A&M University. These amphora were made for thousands of years for wine and olive oil with little change in design. Only a few "amphora potters" still exist but the porcelain industry is important.

Oil amphora as they would be stored in the hold of a ship - Bodrum castle.

The daily salary of a skilled amphora maker in ancient times would buy 18kg of olives, 3 liters of olive oil or 24 loaves of bread. Today's skilled porcelain factory worker earns enough to buy 15kg of olives or 11 liters of oil or 150 loaves of bread. While olives have become comparatively dearer, oil is much cheaper.

Turkish olive oil is also famous for an unusual sport. Every year hundreds of Turkish wrestlers cover themselves in olive oil and don their leather pants. They are practitioners of what some consider to be the Turkish national sport; Olive Oil Wrestling. The finals are held annually in the historic town of Edrine. The wrestlers roll around in the grass, sometimes with a hand down another's trousers to get a better grip.

For more information about the Turkish
olive oil industry, see:
http://www.oliveoilturkey.com/
http://www.egebirlik.org.tr/index1.htm 

The Greek city walls of Sardis with olive trees in the background

Web Updates

New Pages - Olive Taxonomy and Classification page

What are Buyers Looking For in an Olive Oil?
by Lisa Noe

When consulting on olive oil marketing I am constantly amazed by the number of people who haven't considered their customer.  Before planting trees or even buying the land, some thought should go into who will buy the oil and why.  Olive oil connoisseurs have very different criteria for judging oil than the average supermarket shopper.

Olivea, the magazine of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), recently had an article about consumer preferences which highlighted this difference.  Consumers in Italy expressed preference for geographical origin, brand name, the right price, deep color and promotion or discount.

They found that you can't please all the Italian consumers all of the time - 1/3 wanted delicate taste and 1/3 wanted intense taste.  (The obvious solution to this is to have two brands).

You would think that Italians would be knowledgeable olive oil buyers, yet they choose characteristics such as deep color.  Color is not considered a quality measure by the IOOC.  Consumers also don't seem to care particularly about organic and not at all about acidity and pack date, prime determinants of grade and quality.

Now how about your average U.S. consumer? 

Market analysts at the Istituto di servizi per il Mercato Agricolo Alimentare verified what I have found.  U.S. consumers prefer a light colored and light tasting oil in a clear bottle and seem to have little knowledge of quality cues. They like sweet and fruity tastes over strong flavors.

They found that Italian oil sold by commercial brands like Berio and Bertolli in the U.S. are held in high esteem by American buyers who associate it with the "extra virgin" designation even when buying a "Pure" olive oil. 

The survey showed that U.S. consumers are wise to the fact that high price doesn't necessarily mean better quality. 

These consumer preferences would seem to offer two opportunities.  We can educate the American consumer about what constitutes quality, such as what is being done by the California Olive Oil Council, or we can give them what they seem to want. 

That would imply that to cater to the current American buyer of supermarket olive oil , offer reasonable container sizes such as 250 or 500ml, in clear glass bottles, full of a light colored fruity olive oil at a reasonable price.  Light fruity oil in the U.S. is usually made from more mature olives harvested later in the year. 

Which brings us back to deciding what trees to plant. 

There is another consumer which these surveys don't usually identify; the "foodie" or sophisticated food buyer.  That buyer would spring for a more expensive oil with stronger or more unusual flavors coming from Tuscan or Middle Eastern varieties.  

Another buyer is the gift purchaser.  Expensive oils seem to be purchased as gifts.  These are often regional brands.  In California, regions with strong local support include the Napa and Sonoma valleys and other coastal range valleys such as Santa Barbara,  and the Sierra foothills.

Gift purchasers are also influenced by cork caps, wax or raffia bottle neck treatments, fancy labels, ceramic or expensive bottles and attached recipe booklets or bottle pourers.

The survey didn't address supermarket shelf placement which could be an article in itself. 

High tech harvesters have been well covered here but what can you do with some pvc pipe and shade cloth?  Permission has been given to reprint this article from the Hunter Valley newsletter of Australia.

The 2002 olive harvest in the Hunter started in mid March and is still continuing in some areas and with some varieties. Some people picked all their olives in one go while others have been harvesting over a number of days, even weeks. The methods of harvesting have varied from hands into buckets, baskets or catchers to rakes into catchers, to mechanical shakers. As the rakes come without a handle, for high trees they are not much use so handles have to be attached. The most innovative one seems to be using poly electrical conduit. The end was ‘melted’ and the rake pushed in. These handles are light and smooth on the hands.

The catchers varied from locally designed and manufactured to commercially manufactured. Kay Pritchard with the assistance of her neighbor Mauro Melai made a catcher from poly plumbing pipe and shade cloth. It was designed to fit under one side of the tree with an opening for the olives to drop into a small crate below. This had the advantage of allowing for sorting of some olives prior to them going into the crate. It was easy to maneuver and very light to move between trees. After some use, Kay has found that the shade cloth has stretched slightly so will need some adjustment before next season.

Another catcher has a light metal frame with the shade cloth covering clipping on at several points. These can be undone if it is necessary to get in closer to the tree. The catcher encircles the tree; it is ‘driven’ under the tree on small wheels and a Velcro and vinyl strip allowing the cover to complete. There is also an opening on one side for the olives to be transferred into a small crate. This catcher is also light and can be easily moved between trees. It can also be easily dismantled for transporting between groves. It is quite satisfactory for small to medium trees but for larger trees, the umbrella needs to be larger. 

Article courtesy Hunter Olive Association http://www.hunterolives.asn.au