In the 1999-2000 harvest season, about 2.2 million tons of olive
oil was produced. In the 2000-2001 harvest season, it is expected
that 2.5 million tons will be produced, while consumption is expected
to remain at a similar level. As a product with regional specifications,
about 75-80% of production is consumed in the region of production,
leaving an estimated 500,000 tons available for consumption on the
world markets. Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey are among the largest
producers of olive oil in the world.
In the 2000-2001 harvest season, it is estimated that the Aegean
region will house about 64 million trees that bear fruit, 4 million
that will not, and that each tree will yield about 18.5 kg of
fruit, or 1 million individual olives. Of that amount, 225,000
tons will be consumed as olives, 950.000 tons will be set aside
for olive oil production and that amount will likely yield 170,000
tons of olive oil. When other regions are included, olive oil
production may amount to as much as 225,000 tons.
On average, Turkey produces more olive oil than is necessary
for local consumption, so the rest must be exported. Between November
1, 2001 and March 31, 2001, Turkey exported 15,000 tons of olive
oil; according to IOOC/ED estimates in June 2001, that amount
would increase to 85,000 tons. Exports were comprised of 59% in
bulk, 21% in barrels and 20% in boxes. Thus, more than half of
exports were in bulk form, and Turkey's most important export
markets are Italy, Spain and the USA.
Turkey is a producer as well as a consumer, as is the case of
all countries producing the olive oil, and consumes about 60,000
tons of olive oil per year. Per capita, Greece consumes 21 kg
of olive oil, Italy consumes 11 kg, Spain consumes 10 kg, Tunisia
consumes 10 kg, Syria consumes 6.2 kg, Portugal consumes 5 kg
and Turkey consumes 1 kg, by making it the smallest consumer of
olive oil among producing countries.
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