Tunisian duty-free quote increase and Italian protest. Much ado for nothing

Last Monday the Trade Comitee of European Parliament backed a proposal of increase by 35.000 tons the duty-free yearly quota of olive oil imports from Tunisia for a two years period, in order to help the full recovery of the economy of a country which is struggling with terrorism, developing the Tunisian olive oil sector, the agricultural main export of the country.

This decision was followed by the harsh criticism of several  Italian producers associations. The Minister of Agriculture Martina highlighted his strong opposition to any further increase of the duty-free quota. On Italian television channels debates about this “scandalous” attack to Made in Italy is now broadcast countinously and the implicit connection between fraud, adulteration and olive oil import from Tunisia is like a base on which the debate is built on.

Beautiful trees in Tunisian countryside

According to data of International Olive Oil Council Italy’s olive oil production reached 222.000 tons in harvest season 2014-2015 and the internal consumption was of 521.000 tons, the lowest by far of last ten years and it has exported around 208.000 tons.

These data clearly express that Italy needs  to import olive oil. A duty-free import quota is a good opportunity for Italy and for Tunisia too. If the politicians criticizing this move by European Parliament were so focused on studying measures to face fraud with half of the zeal with which they criticize the increase of the quota, Italian olive oil will have not the bad reputation it has currently.

Olive oil is the solution to Egypt's edible oil shortage?

Khaled Hanafi, Minister of  Supply, announced yesterday Egypt will import 89.000 tons of edible oil, adding that this quantity and the residual stock will fulfill the national demand for a period of six months. The population growth is now one of the cause of the continuous shortage of edible oil that Minister of supply is trying to face. The per capita consumption of edible oil and greases is of about 13 kg per year.

The oils to be purchased are soybean oil (61 tons) and sunflower oil (28 tons). These imported oils probably will fill the gap left by the increased consumption and population but these kind of purchases could represent a  short term solution but Egyptian politicians must be determined to think about a long term strategy in order to solve radically the issue.

A camel near Giza Pyramids

According to some declarations of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the president Al-Sisi has expressed his strong personal commitment to support a project for the plantation of trees over a surface of 1 million of feddan, more than 400,000 hectares in different governorates from Sinai to Wadi Natrun. This project could represent  a big blow against unemployment and could enhance the socio-economic conditions of many rural areas while giving to local populations healthy food.

Indeed olive oil is universally considered an oil with high nutritional value, considerably superior to other edible oil mentioned before.  Olive oil is a natural product, it is extracted only by mechanical extraction and no external chemical additive is added in the process.

Probably, for its climate and its history, Egypt’s soil could be a good location for olive cultivation. Olive trees are widespread in the North Western, especially in oasis,  and North Eastern area like in Sinai or El-Arish, allowing Egypt to be the third producer of table olives in the world, with a yearly output of 400.000 tons circa .

Furthermore olive cultivation in Egypt is a very remote activity, known since the time of the Pharaos. Due to the nature of the olive tree adaptable and resilient to the dryness, Egyptian’s sole must be considered as an ideal habitat where to grow olives.

Sources

El Badil
Ahram
Agri Ahram