Changing Landscape of the Global Olive Oil Trade in the 21st Century

The objective of this dissertation is to depict the evolution of the global trade of olive oil since the beginning of the 21st century and highlight the factors which played a key role in the changes that occurred until now. The European Union (EU) and non-EU Mediterranean countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey and Syria have been the main producers and consumers of olive oil until the beginning of the century. In fact, the EU (led by Spain, Italy and Greece) remains the largest olive oil producing and consuming region in the world, a position it has been able to hold thanks to its history, tradition but also international trade agreements and international organizations (e.g., International Olive Council) which have all played an important part in not only promoting olive oil as a food of the highest quality across the world but also protecting its reputation and authenticity. As a consequence, over the course of twenty years this traditional staple food of the Mediterranean region has slowly but surely found its place in other areas of the world (non-Mediterranean) and gained more widespread acceptance in markets where it was not typically part of the consumers’ daily diet. This progress was the result of a combination of several dynamics, such as the Mediterranean diet gaining more worldwide attention and scientific publications supporting the health benefits of olive oil consumption. As positive information spread across non-Mediterranean markets, it ignited consumer curiosity and resulted in an increase in consumption of olive oil, which in turn led the same countries to invest and become competitors in the global olive oil industry. These investments were made possible thanks to technological improvements made in agriculture such as Super-high density (SHD) methods which dramatically increase the olive yields per hectare and reduce the time it requires for olive farms to recoup their investments allowing new producing countries to attain high levels of production in a relatively short period of time. Non-Mediterranean countries like the USA, Chile and Australia have ramped up their efforts to produce more olive oil to not only meet their respective domestic demands but also to generate export income. Yet it remains to be seen whether they can pose a challenge for the EU. Throughout this dissertation, I will present an overview of the global olive oil landscape, describe the forces and policies which drive supply and demand for olive oil and highlight the factors which make EU competitive and vulnerable. I will complement my analysis by describing the current structure of the olive oil sectors in non-Mediterranean countries and underline their features which may threaten the EU’s dominance in the near future.