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Spanish olives - the star of the "tapas"
Spanish olives conquer everyone’s palates around the world. This wonder of the cuisine plays an important part in life in Spain and represents a key sector in the agrifood industry. Spain is the leading country in production, harvesting 520.000 tons in the last five years and is the main olive exporter in the world, reaching homes in more than 115 countries. Table olives, which are a part of Spain’s idiosyncrasy and the history of it’s cuisine, have transcended borders and is expanding in different ways because of their numerous possibilities: whole olives, stoned, stuffed, in halves, in quarters, sliced, chopped, broken, mashed or split, cut, speared, with capers, as salad olives, arranged in geometrical patterns, olive paste, seasoned or dressed olives. There are almost 90 different types of olive stuffings, the most popular in Spain being the anchovy and the most popular abroad, red pepper. Olives are an essential part of Spanish cuisine, especially in Andalusia and Seville, the main producer in this European country, specially the area known as “El Aljarafe”. There are many different varieties of olives, and the “Manzanilla” is the most demanded one, though “Hojiblanca” and “Cacereña”, mainly black olives, are slowly gaining more importance. Table olives are the fruit of the olive tree, a product of great economic and social importance. The industry is of a great relevance in the group of national agrifood industries, both because of the employment it generates, as well as the volume of production and exportation, Spain being a leader in both these aspects in the international market. This sector in Spain creates 7.500 direct employments, more than six million salaries for harvesting and cultivating olive trees, to
which we must add those jobs created by companies and auxiliary factories such as glass, tin, carton, machinery, transports, etc...
Andalusian olives
To talk about table olives is to talk about the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, in the South of Spain, where the main olive production, transformation and packaging industries of this product are located. According to the figures provided by the “Asociación de Exportadores e Industriales de la Aceituna de Mesa” (Association of Table Olives Industries and Exporters) and taken from the Spain is the world leader in the production and exportation of table olives, with a big advantage with respect to the rest of products, attaining a harvest of 517.000 tons. The main target market is Europe and the North American market coming in second place, though gradually new markets are being reached. There are many types of stuffing, pepper, anchovies, tuna, salmon, etc... The main stuffings are peppers, widely consumed abroad, and anchovies. Due to it being used as a basic ingredient in pizzas and the growth of new markets where there is a higher demand of black olives over green, the black olive, called “ripe olive” in USA, has experienced the largest growth in the exporting market.
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