Director General of the Japanese Olive Oil Corporation, Toshi Atada, participated in the tasting team in the fifth session of the International Olive Festival (Anatolia)

Over the course of a week, Sfax, the capital of olive trees in Tunisia, celebrated the various activities of the fifth session of the Olive Festival, which deals with the blessed tree and its oil, which are deeply rooted in popular culture, tourism and the local economy.

According to official statistics, revenues from the sale of olive oil for Tunisia last year provided about one billion dollars.

As part of the activities of the fifth session of the International Olive Festival - which concludes today, Tuesday - the Tunisian state of Sfax celebrated the blessed tree and its fine oil, with which the city seeks to conquer international markets.

Sfax... a destination for olive tourism

Over the course of an entire week, Sfax (south), the capital of Tunisian olives, witnessed various cultural, touristic and commercial activities revolving around the olive tree and Tunisian oil.

The festival was organized by the Tunisian Olive Association (independent), with Arab attendance from Jordan, Palestine and Saudi Arabia, in addition to international participation from Korea and Japan.

The "Capital of Olives", Sfax, witnessed various cultural, touristic and commercial activities for an entire week (Anatolia)

Olive oil tourism

In turn, Vice President of the Tunisian Olive Association, Naziha Al-Qarati Kammoun, said, “We have many events within the framework of the festival, including an olive oil competition, and there is an olive market in which producers of oils and materials extracted from it participate.”

Among the tourism activities related to olive oil, Kammoun says, “We will work to make room for foreigners to visit olive oil producers, and we have invited many nationalities to participate in the festival.”

She added, "We have a participant from Japan in the tasting team. He is Dr. Toshi Atada, Director General of the Japanese Olive Oil Corporation, which holds international competitions specializing in oil. We invited foreigners to taste so that the competition is neutral."

For his part, Fawzi Al-Zayani, head of the association and agricultural policy expert, stressed the tourism dimension of this year’s festival, which witnessed “many tourism, cultural and scientific activities, as well as tourist routes that promote the city of Sfax and Tunisia.”

Director General of the Japanese Olive Oil Corporation, Dr. Toshi Atada, was a member of the tasting committee (Anatolia)

Arab forum

Al-Zayani added, "There is a very important event called the Olive Market in the heart of Sfax, whether with Tunisian or foreign exhibitors to promote many products related to oil and traditional products. There is also the Arab Olive Forum and a fashion show themed around olives. The goal of the festival is always to introduce the material and intangible cultural heritage of Sfax." The capital of olives.

According to Al-Zayani, “12 nationalities participated in the festival, and 50 foreign people from Jordan, Egypt, Algeria, Palestine, Japan and France arrived at the festival.”

12 nationalities participated in the fifth session of the International Zitouna Festival (Anatolia)

Great genetic diversity of olives

On the other hand, Kammoun spoke about the genetic wealth of Tunisian olives, saying, “Tunisia has a great genetic diversity of olive trees, and we have high-quality oil. We will distribute (during the festival) many prizes to the producers participating in the festival, and the best olives will be chosen.”

She continued, "We contacted Arab countries to evaluate olive oil, and in fact, varieties came from Jordan and Palestine because we want to give an international dimension to the festival."

Regarding the dominant type of olive in Sfax, Kammoun says that the city has 98% of the Chamali quality, and it is also found in the Sahel region (the states of eastern Tunisia: Sousse, Monastir, and Mahdia).

She added, "We want to adopt oils from many regions to show the diversity that occurs according to the variety and geographical location. Climatic conditions change the sensory and chemical properties of the oil. We are trying to evaluate the products to achieve quality marks to prove the source and prove the origin."

50 types of olive oil participated in the competition, and each type was sorted separately to show its characteristics (Anatolia)

107 million olive trees in Tunisia

50 types of olives participated in the competition, and each variety was sorted separately to show its characteristics. The Chamali variety came from 10 geographical locations, including Tunis, Sfax, Kairouan (central), and Monastir (east).

As for Shetti from the north of the country, Oueslati from Kairouan (centre), Shamchali from Gafsa (southwest), Djerba (southeast), and Zalmati and Jamri from the far south.

Kammoun confirmed that "Tunisia is one of the most important countries that produce olive oil, and we are always ranked third or fourth in the world. The country has 107 million olive trees over two million hectares out of 5 million hectares suitable for agriculture."

During the 2019 and 2020 seasons, Tunisia was the first oil exporter in the world.

Cumin: Tunisia won more than 200 international awards for olive oil in 2023 (Anatolia)

25 years of improving olive quality

Regarding oil quality research, Kamoun said, “25 years ago we at the Zaytouna Institute began working on the genetic heritage. We researched our heritage, classified it, and determined its sensory and chemical properties. Last year, we won more than 200 international awards for olive oil, and we are still working on valuing the oil.”

As for the Director General of the Japanese Olive Oil Corporation, Toshi Atada, he said on the sidelines of his participation in the exhibition, “I am from Japan and a university professor specializing in olive oil. I participate in the exhibition and in the competitions,” pointing out that “there are many good types of olive oil in Tunisia, according to high international standards.” Tunisian olives also have a place in the Japanese market.”

According to statistics published by the National Observatory of Agriculture (governmental) in October 2023, revenues from the sale of olive oil during the 2022/2023 season were estimated at 3.1 billion dinars ($1 billion), while an increase in Tunisia’s exports of olive oil compared to the previous season was estimated at 56%. .6%.

Tunisia exported 9% of olive oil in canned form during September 2023, while other quantities - which cover 91% of exports of this substance to global markets - arrived in liquid (raw) form, according to the same source.

Oil production in Tunisia is according to region, and is generally 23% in the north, 17% in the coast (east), 35% in the center-west, and 25% in the south, according to the General Administration of Agricultural Production in the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture.

Source: Anadolu Agency