No Result
View All Result
Saturday, May 21, 2022
19 °c
Tripoli
22 ° Sun
24 ° Mon
26 ° Tue
24 ° Wed
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
 
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Business

Never mind the oil, what about the olive oil?

bythomwestcott
October 24, 2017
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
12
SHARES
50
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

By Tom Westcott. 

Green olives (Photo: Tom Westcott)

London, 10 December 2012:

Olive oil, a staple of the Libyan diet, could be the country’s answer to future diversification from . . .[restrict]the hydrocarbon industry, which currently accounts for 95 percent of exports.

Last week, at an exhibition of dates and olives in Tripoli, Libya’s production of olives and olive oil were discussed as a future trade opportunity. Taher al-Zweibek, an official of the export promotion centre, told AFP that Libya had decided to up the quality of its olive production to tap into lucrative European markets.

The expectation amongst European markets of certain standards of packaging and labelling and how these can affect export opportunities was also acknowledged. Zweibeck said: “A national label will be created and used to identify Libyan products in order to facilitate marketing while establishing a relationship of trust with the consumer.”

RELATED POSTS

16 Libyan coaches complete business training course to coach Libyan start-ups and SMEs

Trial run of the Unified Electronic Health File System inaugurated

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in 2010 Libya was the world’s 12th biggest producer of olives, producing 180,000 metric tons, with an estimated value of over $144 million. Libyan olive oil, however, is not widely known in Europe.

There are lucrative European markets for olive oil where Palestinian and Lebanese oils are becoming popular (Photo: Tom Westcott)

Olive oil-producing regions, such as at Emselata, export much of their supply to Tunisia, the world’s sixth largest olive producer, where it is processed, bottled and exported as Tunisian olive oil.

Some of this Libyan-Tunisian oil is apparently imported back into Libya, although many Libyans prefer to buy directly from farmers who press their own oil and sell it by the roadside.

Now, however, change could be on the horizon. Agriculture was neglected and held back under the old regime but with its passing, there should be better opportunities for farmers. Not only will they be able to invest in modern equipment to make harvesting and processing olives swifter and more efficient, but they will no longer have to sell their harvest to the government at reduced prices.

The ministry of agriculture is also looking into growing other varieties of olive. At the Tripoli exhibition agriculture ministry official Saad al-Kunni said that Libya has been experimenting with a new kind of Spanish olive, the Arbequina. Initial trials were apparently so encouraging that nearly 2,000 hectares have now been planted with Arbequina in two separate agricultural projects.

In a report on Libya earlier this year the International Monetary Fund said that “institutional reforms are necessary to reorientate the economy away from hydrocarbon dependence and to promote job creation.”

Agriculture was one of Libya’s main activities before the discovery of oil in 1958, with some 80 percent of the population involved in agriculture or animal-rearing in the 1950s. By 1999 this had fallen to a mere 18 percent.

Diversifying back into agriculture is an important step to ensuring a sustainable future for the country.

Olives are the country’s fifth biggest home-grown commodity, after potatoes, watermelons, tomatoes and onions, according to the FAO’s 2010 statistics. The best olive oil reputedly comes from Emselata and Tarhouna, centres of olive oil production for at least 2,000 years.

Some of the olive trees in these groves are believed to be some 2,000 years old, thought to have been planted by the Romans, for whom Libya was an important supplier of olive oil. One of these is so old that the centre of the tree as gone and there is now a circle of trees around where the original trunk stood. These ancient trees still bear fruit.

Most of today’s eight million olive trees were planted by Italian colonists in the 1920s and 30s. The Libyan olive oil industry was then effectively destroyed by Qaddafi when, having expelled the Italian farmers, he decided that Libya did not need the industry.

There were few Libyan farmers to replace the Italians and, in the 1970s, students from the University of Tripoli were drafted in to help harvest the olives. These conscripted harvesters were unfamiliar with the usual method of gently shaking the ripe olives out of the tree onto a covering below.

Instead, according to a local who remembers watching these untrained harvesters: “People were bashing branches with sticks and breaking them, or trying to pick olives by hand, a laborious job.” In the end many olives were left to fall and rot.

Many farms near Tripoli were split up and sold as weekend homes and the new owners often viewed their olive trees as merely decorative. They would have some olives pressed for oil for their own use but the rest were left to spoil.

Regular consumption of olive oil is reported to have extensive health benefits, including lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, and keeping osteoporosis and depression at bay.

[/restrict]

Share5Tweet3Share1

Related Posts

Germany’s GIZ launches Libya IT sector survey to assess employment potential, identify training gaps
Business

16 Libyan coaches complete business training course to coach Libyan start-ups and SMEs

May 19, 2022
Made in Algeria expo to be held in Tripoli 28 to 31 May at Tripoli Sports City
Business

Made in Algeria expo to be held in Tripoli 28 to 31 May at Tripoli Sports City

May 19, 2022
Libya and Total Energies sign preliminary agreement to establish 500 MW solar power project 
Business

Libya and Total Energies sign preliminary agreement to establish 500 MW solar power project 

May 19, 2022
Turkish independent business association, MUSIAD, opens Tripoli branch
Business

Turkish independent business association, MUSIAD, opens Tripoli branch

May 17, 2022
Misrata airport upgrade financed by local businesses expected to open within three months
Business

Misrata airport upgrade financed by local businesses expected to open within three months

May 17, 2022
Greek delegation visits Benghazi’s Benina airport to discuss resumption of flights with Athens ‘‘soon’’
Business

Greek delegation visits Benghazi’s Benina airport to discuss resumption of flights with Athens ‘‘soon’’

May 17, 2022
Next Post
Exclusive: Congressmen move to dismiss Mangoush as army chief of staff

Exclusive: Congressmen move to dismiss Mangoush as army chief of staff

Proposed Electricity Minister Ali Muhairiq has Integrity Commission ruling overturned on appeal

 

Advertise on LibyaHerald

Reach thousands of our site visitors daily

240 x 400px

Advertise Here
ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Malta-based Libyan carrier Med Sky to start chartered flights from Misrata to Malta from 5 May

    Malta-based Libyan carrier Med Sky to start chartered flights from Misrata to Malta from 5 May

    488 shares
    Share 195 Tweet 122
  • Two leading Tripoli militias clash in town centre

    423 shares
    Share 175 Tweet 103
  • Bashagha reveals proposed government of 41 – with 30 ministers and 8 ministers of state

    348 shares
    Share 142 Tweet 86
  • Hafter’s representatives in the 5+5 Joint Military Commission announce suspension of their participation in the commission

    334 shares
    Share 140 Tweet 81
  • Bashagha enters Tripoli briefly before being forced to exit swiftly in the face of determined militia opposition

    299 shares
    Share 120 Tweet 75
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

16 Libyan coaches complete business training course to coach Libyan start-ups and SMEs

Trial run of the Unified Electronic Health File System inaugurated

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Cart
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Sign In with Facebook
    Sign In with Linked In
    OR

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Sign Up with Facebook
    Sign Up with Linked In
    OR

    Fill the forms bellow to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.
    Are you sure want to unlock this post?
    Unlock left : 0
    Are you sure want to cancel subscription?