"Circularity in the olive oil sector, a great opportunity to differentiate in the markets"

The Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC), which will take place from June 26 to 28 at the CSIC headquarters in Madrid, has organized the conference entitled 'Sustainable olive groves: the circular olive oil route' to show how the sector is carrying out numerous innovations in favor of sustainable production processes.

The event was welcomed by Margarita Cobos, general secretary of the Agricultural and Fisheries Management Agency of Andalusia.

Cobos has pointed out that "our region has more than 180 million olive trees, being Jaén the heart of the olive grove and from which arise the greatest achievements in this crop. From the Junta de Andalucía, with the aim of continuing to lead the production of olive groves and olive oil, we have launched the 'First Olive Grove Strategy', an initiative in which all the stakeholders of the sector have participated and which we hope will help us to continue with this leadership".

This was followed by a round table discussion moderated by José Manuel Serrano, director of Jaén Hoy, with the participation of leading experts in the olive grove and olive oil sector, as well as in marketing and market research, such as Manuel Parras, professor at the University of Jaén; Juan Antonio Polo, Head of the IOC's Technology and Environment Department; and Esteban Momblán, managing director of InterOleo.

Parras stated that "it is impossible to understand sustainability without its three approaches: social, environmental and economic. Sustainability in the olive oil sector means an enormous opportunity to differentiate in the markets, especially for those types of olive groves that have more difficulties in terms of price competitiveness, which have to look for elements linked to the triple sustainability. Sometimes the sector is very focused on working on the production processes and not so much on the commercial ones, and this happens because this sector is not so market-oriented".

Polo stressed that "the better we protect the environment in which we produce food, the healthier it will be both for the environment and for the people who consume it. In addition, we are fortunate that we are in a sector in which everything can be reused.

Finally, Momblán recalled that "the FAO forecasts that in 2050 there will be 9 billion people and this will also affect the olive oil sector, in which we must be much more efficient in the use of our resources".

Under the slogan 'Taste it, enjoy it, it's olive oil', the OOWC counts on the collaboration of AgroBank, CIA - Agricoltori Italiani, FOOI, MSC, John Deere and the Junta de Andalucía through its brand 'Gusto del Sur' as Platinum sponsors; Grupo Interóleo, Yara International, GEA, AGQ Labs, Todolivo and Balam Agriculture as Gold sponsors; the company Kubota and SGS as Silver sponsors; Certicalidad and Agrocolor as other sponsors. Agrotec, Voz do Campo, Puglia Live, Grupo Joly and Oleo are the Media Partners of the OOWC.

By sponsoring the congress, you will be able to maintain direct contact with the most important professionals, in addition to having great visibility during the most important event of the olive oil sector. Anyone interested in being part of this project can obtain information through the Technical Secretariat of the OOWC by calling +34 917217929 or sending an email to info@oliveoilwc.com