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.

Positive forecast for olive oil production in North Africa

The now starting harvest in North Africa is expected to be a good one, as the annual growth is projected to increase  67 percent in 2014-2015 harvest. This outstanding figure is greatly due to the extraordinary production of olive oil of Tunisia that will touch a year over year growth rate of 250% or maybe more. Last year unfavorable weather conditions, especially the almost complete dryness, hit hardly the sector in the biggest producing country of olive oil of North African area. One could easily esteem  last year harvest a real tragedy, considering  that Tunisian soil hosts 80 millions of trees over an 1,8 hectars area and the great number of persons depending from olive sector revenues. The high price of extra virgin olive oil, sold for about 3€ in bulk in Sfax, probably will boost Tunisian production to a never reached level, between 265.000 and 285.000 tons, as recently declared mr Lassaad Lachaal, Minister of Agriculture. The Algerian production is expected to increase from the 49.000 tons of last season to 70.000 tons, despite great part of Kabilia, the Algerian region most knwon for its olive oil production, has been  frequently hit by fires last summer.
The only country in the area that will produce less olive oil than last year is Morocco. This decrease is expected to touch -25%, dropping from 120.000 tons of last harvest to 90.000 tons of olive oil.
No data available for Libya, where the war between clans and militias doesn't allow any forecast.

Sources

العربي الجديد

http://news80.com/dz/2014/10/09/300244/

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