Leading olive oil bottler SOS Group has unveiled a plan designed to encourage Spanish olive growers to improve their holdings and make Spanish olive oil more competitive globally.
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The company’s “Land Project” is aimed at encouraging the introduction of high-yield planting systems, not only in Spain but also throughout the olive-growing world in an effort to stabilise farmgate prices and increase consumption.
SOS said it is undertaking the project with a three-pronged approach: land purchase financed by investment funds; active support for growers’ associations; and “lease-to-farm” deals for young growers who the company sees as strong on know-how but weak in terms of capital resources.
In all three areas, the SOS Group will be responsible for overall management, and will also guarantee purchase of 100% of the crop.
As an example of new farming techniques, an olive grove laid out in the form of long pyramid-shaped hedgerows can produce as much as 10,500 kilos per hectare, a huge jump from the traditional yield of approximately 3,000 kg/ha, the company said.
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By GlobalDataAccording to the company’s data, between 1991 and 2005, world olive oil consumption rose by 75% from 1.67bn to 2.9bn tonnes but production has not kept pace with rising demand, leading to volatile price movements.
