Spain is the world's first producer of olive oil, with an average annual
production of 600,000 metric tonnes.
Areas of olive cultivation
A FEW FACTS
1. Being the world's first producer of olive oil, it is no surprise that
it is also the first exporter. The average amount exported annually over
the last 10 years was 206,000 metric tonnes, except for the record 1990/91
season when the figure reached 387,000 metric tonnes.
2. A distinction can be made between bulk exports, most of which are sent
to the European Union, and exports in packs containing less than 5 litres.
These are sent direct to the consumer or to restaurants, institutions,
etc all over the world
3. Packed Spanish Olive Oil is sold in over 95 countries - Australia, Brazil,
Canada, France, Holland, Japan, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Taiwan,
the United States - and the main buyers of bulk oil are Italy, France,
Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
4. Spanish Olive Oil is subject to strict quality control. The producers
themselves carry out analyses in their own laboratories, and the Spanish
authorities take samples of each batch and analyse them to check that they
meet all the quality requirements established by the European Union.
5. An average of 4-5 kgs of olives are required to obtain one kilogram
of Olive Oil.
6. Olive production is distributed as follows: