Aug. 4, 2021
Paolo DeAndreisSmall and medium-sized extra virgin olive oil producers have banded together in Italy to form a new federation focused on preserving their culture and native olive cultivars.
The Italian Federation of Independent Olive Growers (FIOI) founders said that it will be the home for growers and millers considered to be “olive oil artisans.”
We claim the right to exist and to express our identity on the labels and the shelves.
The oils from these producers seldom reach supermarket shelves, and the producers claim to be under-represented in a sector they believe is dominated by larger companies and producers.
See Also:New Efforts to Promote Rare White Olive Variety in Calabria“We are an independent federation managed by the olive growers themselves; by olive farms that do not have anything to share with the world of the olive oil industry,” said Paolo Di Gaetano, head of the Tuscany-based Fonte di Foiano and newly elected FIOI president.
“We are farmers who through our activities preserve and protect the land by personally ensuring strict monitoring of the whole production chain,” he added.
The current dynamics of the olive oil market have proven to be challenging for small olive oil producers, the federation’s founders said.
They argue that artisanal extra virgin olive oil and mass-produced olive oil should be considered and evaluated differently, as they are separate products with their own organoleptic characteristics, selling prices, and customer bases.
“Olive oil artisans must distinguish themselves from the olive oil commodity producers, whose product is sold on the market at lower prices,” said Antonella Titone, the FIOI vice president who produces olive oil in Sicily. “We claim the right to exist and to express our identity on the labels and the shelves.”
According to Pietro Intini, the second vice president who produces olive oil in Puglia, olive oil artisans are scattered throughout Italy. He argued that the country is so diverse that the individual geographic and weather conditions that help shape each region’s olive oil should be considered.
“Italy counts on the widest olive heritage in the world with more than 580 olive tree cultivars, a variety of the farming lands and the different micro-climates, all of which are precious assets that could be lost,” he said.
According to Intini, FIOI aims at “safeguarding the historic Italian cultivars, re-discovering and promoting them.”
“We respect foreign olive oil cultures but reject the import of agronomic and technological models or varieties and hybrids that could pervert our national identity,” he added.
Meanwhile, Caterina Mazzolin, the secretary-general of the FIOI, explained that the federation’s “goal is to make producers help each other and form a specific market, projected well beyond our national borders where our high-quality green gold is often more appreciated.”
“This is something that we have seen happening in the wine world, where in the past its added value and quest for quality were propelled by its foreign customers,” she added.
“We can offer unparalleled quality declinations, a multitude of flavors and scents,” Intini concluded. “This is why we want to announce and spread the good news and put Italian olive oil culture at the heart of this research, cultural and economic project.”
Related Articles
Aug. 10, 2022
In Efforts to Promote Quality, Italy Focuses on Olive Mills
Upgrading technology, improving techniques and promoting sustainability are at the core of efforts to add value to Italian olive oils.
May. 12, 2022
Court Halts Removal of Xylella-Infected Millenary Trees in Puglia
Local agricultural associations protested a local court's decision and said it would result in further damage to the region’s olive trees.
Nov. 30, 2022
Europe Rolls Out New Rules Governing Olive Oil Quality
Brussels reviewed olive oil classifications, labeling and marketing. The simplified rules aim at a more homogeneous E.U. olive oil market.
Nov. 10, 2022
A Predicted Record Harvest Would Make Turkey the World’s Second-Largest Olive Oil Producer
The country’s olive oil and table olive yields are expected to reach record highs. Officials hope to export more olive oil to Europe and grow domestic demand.
Jan. 25, 2022
Producers Express Alarm in Latest Olive Oil Times Survey
Producers say they face ever-growing hardships from the effects of a global pandemic, climate change, higher production costs, market instability and a persistent lack of consumer understanding about their products.
Mar. 31, 2022
Farmers in New Zealand Optimistic Ahead of Harvest
New techniques, better pruning and benevolent weather are fueling big expectations for the upcoming olive harvest.
Oct. 24, 2022
Producers in Abruzzo Seek PGI Certification
Farmers and producers in Italy’s fifth-largest producing region hope the PGI will add value to their olive oils and mitigate rising production costs.
Jun. 9, 2022
Tuscan Producers Triumph at NYIOOC, Overcoming Late Frosts and Summer Heat
Painstaking work in the grove, without forgetting the importance of sustainable farming, propelled Tuscan farmers to a leading role at the World Competition.