View of OLIVE PRODUCTION AND OLIVE OIL INDUSTRY IN LIBYA, TUNISIA, ALGERIA AND MOROCCO

Oeconomia 4 (2)

2005, 35-40

OLIVE PRODUCTION AND OLIVE OIL INDUSTRY IN LIBY A,

TUNISIA, ALGERIA AND MOROCCO

Mahmud Geheder

Warsaw Agricultural

University

Abstract. The arlicle analyses the production of olive in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco it inclucles comparison of growth in procluction bctwcen 1990 and 2003. The work touches on the problems faceci by the olive industry in the production and marketing stage. The objective of the research is to study the modern me1hocls or 111anurac1uring and procluction of olive and olive oils. Another objective is 10 getto know about the prohlems and obstacles faceci in the process of cleveloping and improving lhis pa1ticula1· section or agriculture in the sclected North African counlries.

Key words: olivc oil, olive procluction, North Africa coun11·ics

INTRODUCTION

The economical importance of the olives lies in its additional valuc addcd 10 agricultural production and also its contribution in the national production as wcll as in coming in the always much needed foreign currencies in export. All thesc come from exports of olives and olive oils. On the other hand olives occupics an important position in the food production and consumption, in addition to its many othcr uscs.

It constitutes a major source of fatty acids, proteins, viwmi ns, carbohydratcs ;1nd fibres. Most of the populations involved in the production or olive live a way hom towns, in the countryside. Olive production section provides employment for thesc populations living in the villages. Production of olives hcre takes advantage or the free labou1· force at homes. The olive tree plantations cover large areas in most of. the Arab countrics, for example in Libya area under Olive covers some 100 thousand hcc1arcs. In the year 2003 the average production was over 150 thousand tones of livcs. In Tunisia olivc plant;1tions covers up to one- third of the whole of arabie lands and that is the cquivalcnt of so111

1.6 million hcctares. The annual production in 2003 was cstimatcc\ at 350 Lhousanc\ tones. On the othcr hand, in Algeri:i the area covcrcc\ by olivc Irce pl;111Lalion is

Adres do korespondencji - Corresponding aulhor: Mahmud Gchedcr, Si'.kola Clówna Clospocl;1rslwa Wic.iskicgo ,,. \Varsi'.awic. Wydział Ekono111ic1.no-Rolnici'.y. l<.mcclra Polityki /\gr,1rncj i Ma1-kc -1ingu, ul. Nowoursynowsb 166. 02-787 WarsLawa. e-111ail: 111ah111ucl_gchcder((1iyal100.co111

36

M. Ceheder approximately

45%

of the wliole of the country's arabie lands and in

2003

alone the annual production was pul at

l

67.29

thousand tones. Finally, in Morocco olive plantation covers al most

50

%

of the whole of that country's arabie lands and this is equivalent to some

560

thousand hectares. In the year

2003

the annual production was almost

830.

l

thousand tones.

013.JECTIVE

The objective of the research work is to study the modern methods of manufacturing and procluction of olive and olive oils. Another objective is to get to know about the problems and obstacles faceci in the process of developing and improving this particular section or agriculture in the selected North African countries.

CU

RRENT SITUATION OF OLIVE PRODUCTION IN SELECTED AFRICAN

C

OUNTRIES

Depencling on the land humidity, there are to be found two types of forming in Libya. One of the methocls clepends on the rainfall directly or indirectly. The inclirect clepend on the rainfall covers such method of forming which use direct water, dams, rewers and wells for watering the plants. The second method is the type of farming clcpenclent on irrigation system

The inclirect method is clepenclant on the rainfall. The rai n fal Is in the autumn but at limes il can continue through the months of winter. During these seasons olive plants

;1rc 10 be cultivatecl using the mentionecl ways. For the region of the country to the west, thai is between Zaura and Masrata the rainfall by year cloes not exceecl

200

mm. However, to the east region rainfall per years reach

600

mm and for this reason olive plants are

cultivatccl in the mountains (so-called green mountains) and also in some limited areas in 11anzayn.

The spacing between the olive 1rees depencls on the rainfall as well as the type of soi I. I-or regions with little rainfall per year and poor soils (like sandy soil) the clearance can incrcase to event about

20

metres from tree to tree. In the irrigation system of olive tree rarming. the trees get the water indirectly. This system is popular in small areas and occupics limited areas too.

Depcncling on the specialisation of given plantation, with the use of indirect method or watcring it is poss i ble IO cultiv;1te:

olivc. almoncls, fruits and others plants, cultiv;11ion or only olive trces,

usi11g irrigation it is possiblc to cultiva1e vegetables, forage, or fruits (including cvcn evergreen piani~) as wcll as rruits which shade leaves during winter like pcachcs. avocaclos etc ..

herc 1hcrc arc two 111e1hods ofcultivation ofolive trees. one is when there is plenty

or wa1cr in an arc the uthcr is ror arcas wi1hout enough like mountains found to the 11-cst. ncar the rives (rivcrs around the town Serd) or lakc water is available (like

:1rnuml \V:1had lakc).

Olive prod11ctio11 and olive oil i11d11stry in .. 37

When it comes to 1\misia, olive plantations can be found almos1 all over ihe country, from the North to the South of the Country. lt covers al most 95% 01· al I !he forcsls. Th cy

grow under different conditions depending on the rainfall. The rainfoll is bc1wccn 1200 mm in the North and some 1500 mm in the South. At limes, in somc :ircas. il rai11s

only for some 30 days in the whole year. The amount of rainfoll ditlers rrom place Io

place and also from year to year. It has place a very big role in converiing lands rrnm

deserts to agricultural lands with production of live trees.

On the other hand, in Algeria olive plantations are orten found in !he moun1ains and

cover some 62% of the mountain areas. For example in the provinccs situ:1tccl at !he

centre of the country these include: Pgaya, Tizywzw, Pwyra, Pomrdas thcy cover less than 1,8 hectares. However to the east of the country they cover some 3. 77 hcctarcs bul in the west they cover about 5 hectares. These are the conditions that clctcrminc the production of olives in Algeria, here the traditional system and lraclitional procluclion technology is at use.

The remaining areas covers some 30.000 hectares found to the eas1 or the country

and are characterised by production of olives. Most of the new areas to the wcst or snulh of the country or in the low-lying areas use modern mcthocls of cul1ivation. Herc the between 200 and 400 olive trees are planted per hectarc. Thesc arcas are irrigatcd by the so-called droplet method. Farming here also dependent very much on the funds rcccivccl sponsor-countries, those countries supporting the projects. The sponsor funds arc cover:

100% of money for purchasing seedlings,

100% of money used for purchasing fertilisers,

40% of money used for purchasing irrigation equipment,

40% of the money for digging wells and construction of tan ks for walcr stor:1gc.

Finally, there are four methods of olive production in Morocco; thcsc mclhods arc to be found in four regions:

Agricultural area dependent on irrigation for forming, this area covcrs around 220

thousand hectares and this is the equivalent of 3% of the wholc Moroccan olivc plantation. It is divided into two sections (I) First section - irrigalion non-slop.

This area covers some 40 thousand hectares; these 40 hectares inc!udc 9 dams in

Morocco. (2) The second section covers same 80 thousand hcctarcs. I lcre irriga1iu11

is supplementary. These include areas like Maraksh, Saragi11 C1s11L:, Sliishawli,

Tadle Bany Malaial, Swyrah, Warazat, Taflalit, Fikick, P;li111an, Malwya D:1m,

Juwa and Nador;

Areas irrigated by available seasonal rainfall. Thcse areas cover 100 thousand hectares equivalent to 18"/n of the wl10le of the national olivc planls and thcsc arcas

are: Sais, Fas Safer, Miknas, Hajcb and to the wcst we havc: Sidigascm, Sidisliman

and Alowkus;

Areas irrigatecl by deficient seasonal rainfall. The arcas cover 40 1housand hcctar(;s - being the equivalent of up to 7% of the wholc of Lhe n;1tional olivc pla11L;1tion

cover. These areas include: Alikamisat, Wastat, Astin and J(1ybka;

Sub-urban areas cover about 200 thousand hectares re1xcscnting aboul 36'Y,,

o

r

the whole national area under olive plantation. Thesc arcas includc: Country 1110L1111e1i11s (Shawshawin, Tanjahm, Tatwan, Al-tasima) Taza, Twnat, Khncfra and /\!1.ilal.

38

Tahle I. The most important types of olives in selected North-African countries Tabela I. Najważniejsze odmiany oliwek w wybranych krajach Afryki Północnej

C'oun1ry Typcs of o li vcs

M. Geheder

Libya lndwy, Zulmaty. Rapyany, Rasli, Oslaty, Hamodi, Shamlali, Zarazy, Marany, Tiboby, Zafrany

Tunisia 1\l.-Shatawy, Al.-Shamlaly, Al.-Waslany (Algim). Al.-Shamshaly, Al.-Jarboi, Al.-Zalmaty,

i\l.-Myski. Al.-Bisbasy, i\1.-Marsalin, Al.-Zarazy

/\lgcria Dblankanti Galmic Atabany, Aburisha, Shamlal, Azility, Malei, Azrag, Tofah, Limly, Sigwaz,

Farkany

Morocco Bishulin, Al.-Huszja. Al.-Manarah, Al.-Thahabiya

Sourcc: Own rcscarch.

i.rucllo: Badania własne.

Table 2 prcsents development production of the countries. The statistical results of bet wccn 1990 and 2003 show that production in these countries has been growing and this is clearly evident in countries like Libyan, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia as shown in the table.

Table 2. Production or olives in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco in 1990-2003 (in thousand

to11es)

Tabela 2. Produkcja oliwek w Libii. Tunezji, Algerii i Maroko w lalach 1990-2003 (w tysiącach ton)

Yc:u Libya Tunisia Algeria Morocco

t'J90 68.0 660.0 177.9 396.0 1991 70.0 839.0 88.0 550.0 1992 168.8 134.0 266.0 380.0 1993 t 86.6 688.0 206.0 554.5 199-1 168.8 1063

o

170.4 622.4 1995 168.8 350.0 131.0 436.3 11_{)96 185.7 300.0 313.3 835.6} 1997 145.0 150

o

319.5 517.6 199R I ~5.9 450.0 124. l 708.5 I<)<)<) _{275.0 900.0 3634 400.0} 2000 165.0 l 250.0 298.3 380.0 2001 150

o

550

o

200.3 698.7 2002 150.0 150.0 191.9 455.3 2003 150.0 350

o

167.3 830. l

Snu1cr· D.11a 01· 1\r:d1i:111 Agricnhural Dcvclop111cnt Orga11is:11ion.

/mdlll l).111c 1\r.1hi:111 1\gricult11ral Dcwlupmcnt Organisation.

Olive prod11c1io11 and olive oil i11d11s11y in ... 1400 "' 1200 ~ § ₁₀₀₀ "O

~

₈₀₀ :::l o .::;

·=

GOO· .~ _u 400 :::l "O

e

o..

o

1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 - L i bya - T u n isia 39 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 200 I 2002 2001 Ycar

___....__ Algcria ... „ .. Morocco

Graph I. Production of olives in Libya, Tunisia. Algeria and Morocco in 1990-2003 (in thousa11d tones)

Wykres I. Produkcja oliwek w Libii, Tunc7ji, Algcrii i Maroko w latach 1990-2003 (w tysi<\Cach 1011)

Sourcc: Data of Arabian Agricultural Dcvclopment Organisation. Żródlo: Dane Arabian Agricultural Dcvclopmcnt Organisation.

PROBLEMS IN PROOUCTION

ANO

INOUSTRY

OF OLIVES

The problems encountered in the production field include the f'ollowing issucs: failure to select the appropriate types of olives, improper care of the olivc trecs, limited knowledge on the methods of caring of olive trees, use of bad methods or harvcsting or olive fruits, and mixing of good quality and bad quality olivcs.

Moreover, there are some problems connected with the olive industry. f-irst or all, there are few people with the proper skills and professional cducation and prcparation in the directing of production and manufacture. Another problem is !hat olivcs arc usually out of national and international standards, i.e. separaJing watcr from olivcs or not scpa -rating leaves from the olives during manufacturc. In using pressing m;1chincs Io prcss oil from olivcs, the prcsscrs are not propcrly clcancd and this leads lu n.:11111a11ls i11 1l1c press plates, the remnants lov,ier the quality of the next party of o live oils prcsscd.

On the other hand, climatic problems cover the olive trces in the hot rcgions. The plants may be destroyed by the harsh winter conditions also vcry hot summer days could destroy the plants. Another factor here is the amount of rainfall, wh re thcrc is no irrigation very low annual rainfall might lead to destruction of plants.

Moreover, economical problems included: competition bctwecn the local produclion and production abroad, lack of exporting companies, lack of funds for marketing

purposes, lack of suitable storage facilities, high production costs, lack or invcst111cn1 projects, and high cost of marketing or low demancl of olivc oil in the int rnal rnarkt.:I within some countries.

Finally, within marketing problcms f'ollowing can be distinguishcd: usc or irnpropcr packaging to transport olive oils as plastic packs, lack of plastic packing for olivc oils, use of bad rnethod of pouring oil into bottles, ovcrstaying of olive in storagc warchouscs

40

M. Geheder

and not ~cnding them in time for pressing leads to low quality, lack of marking appro

-priatc professional skills and knowledge, pouring of olive oil into improper packets and kccping 01· olivc in humid spaccs lead to olive being spoiled.

CONC

LUSIONS

Ol i vc production occupies a central place in most of the North African countries and

mainly in those countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. For the reason therefore, these countrics have been more interested in production of olive. However, because these countrics have been mainly only heavily involved in the production and have mainly neglectcd the marketing and export a lot of olives get spoił for lack of market.

Neglecting the marketing and export has resulted in that these countries have almost no

ability to compete in the international markets. The report coverecl mainly North African countries and ways of production of olive and also the most important types of olive and

th arca coverecl by olive trees. Also the amount of annual production in the studied

count1·ies and study too included review of the problems faceci in the: problems with

production, prublems with manuracturing, economical problems, climatic problems and last or all marketing problems

R

EFE

R

E

NCES

S1a1is1ical hooks or Arahian Agricultural development organisations (Publishc.d by Arab Development

or /\griculture).

The annual rcports for Agricultural dcvclopment in Arab Countrics (Published by Arab Development

or /\griculiure).

Dcvclop1nc111. Procluction. lnclustry and Marketing or Olive and Olive oil in Arab Countries (P11hlishcd hy /\rab Devclopmcm of Agriculture 2004)

www.:to:1cJ.org

PROD

UKC

J

A

OLIWEK ORAZ

PRZEMYSŁ

OLIWKOWY W LIBII, TUNEZJI,

ALGIE

RII I

MAROKO

Streszczenie. Uprawa oliwek zajmuje kluczowe miejsce w większości krajów śródziemno­

morskich (Libia. Tunezja. Algieria. Maroko). Kraje te zawsze byly intensywnie zaan -ga1011:1nc \\' prod11kc_ii,: oliwek i oliwy /. oliwek. Jednak b1-.1k wlaściwic prowadzonych d1ial:11'1 marketingowych oraz eksportowych sp1·awia.ią, że kraje Arryki l'ólnocncj mają prohlc111y 1c 1.byt..:111 produktu or:1z ograniczone możliwości konkurowania na arenie

111i~d1.y11a1\1dowcj. \\/ ni11iejs1.y111 opracowaniu scharakteryzowano sposoby produkcji

ol11Vck. ohs1~1ry. gdzit.: ~"l onc uprawiane a tnkżc rw1ważnicjszc oclrninny oliwek. Przed->lall'irn10 rów11ici. wiclknśc produkcji oliwek w krajach Afryki Pólnocnej w latach

I <)<J0-200:1 Do 11ajwainiL:js1.ych problemów związanych z produkcją oliwek zaliczono:

hral-. ll)St:1ru;1jąccj wicd1.y na lemat uprawy i przetwórstwa oliwek. problemy klimatyczne.

prnbk111y cl-.nnomic111c ora1. problemy marketingowe.

Slowa kluczowe: olej /. oliwek. produkcja oliwek. kraje Afryki Pólnocncj

Z:1:1kccp10wano do druku - Acccptcd for print: O'i.12.200:1