THE OLIVE TREE

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Olive cultivation and olive oil processing have close ties with the history of Spain.

The olive plant, Olea europea, was first introduced into the Iberian peninsula by the Phoenicians and Greeks and olive cultivation was subsequently greatly expanded by the Romans who also improved oil production techniques. Olive oil from Hispania was much prized by the inhabitants of ancient Rome and in many other parts of the Roman Empire, being considered of superior quality.

Later on, the Arabs were to perfect the techniques used for obtaining oil and the closeness of their association with olive oil in Spain is evident in the fact that the Spanish word "aceite" meaning oil comes from the Arab "al-zait" for olive juice.

Olives were taken to the New World by Spanish settlers during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and are now established in many areas, notably California and parts of Latin America.

Today olives are cultivated in most of Spain but the greatest density is to be found in Andalusia, especially in the provinces of Jaén and Córdoba.

It is estimated that there are currently over 215 million olive trees in Spain occupying a surface area of about 2 million hectares. This amounts to 27% of the worldwide surface area planted with olives.

As a result of this long-standing tradition, developed over the centuries, Spain is today the world's top olive oil producer and exporter.