It is a product that floats against the current. Not in vain, the agricultural area of Alicante province has decreased by almost half in the last 40 years, while olive production has doubled in the same period, showing its resistance capacity despite the falling prices. not always accompanied. In this context, on the initiative of Asaja, the twelve main olive oil mills in Alicante, create an association that allows them to promote oil and at the same time increase your profitability.
This was announced this Thursday at a conference in Cocentaina under the organization of the Juan-Gil Albert Cultural Institute, and the agricultural presence itself in olive cultivation over the economy. the so-called association Olis d’AlacantEl Tendre, Señoríos de Relleu, Ribes Oli, Millena, Beneoliva, L’Alqueria, Font Negre, Socapma, Católica de Cocentaina, Las Virtudes de Villena and San Cristóbal from Canada
As explained by Asaja president José Vicente Andreu, the main objectives pursued with this initiative are to work on promotion and differentiation in terms of the quality of extra virgin olive oil from Alicante and promote a quality figure of the same name. of the association, which in the future may be created as a mark of the Community of Valencia, a protected geographical indication or a name of origin.
Without forgetting all this, he adds Andreu, the biggest challenge of the industry. increase farmers’ income. “We can’t talk about reviving agriculture, avoiding depopulation, or involving young people in the countryside,” he stresses, unless a price is guaranteed that will allow us to make our farms profitable.
Joaquín Sempere, president of El Tendre at Elche, said: “We want to go hand in hand to defend our interests and promote the consumption of our extra olive oil for what we produce here”. The association also stated that it will try to benefit from other areas as well. joint electricity tender To get better prices.
Lorenzo Chinchilla, economist, technician and professor at the GNA from Asaja, emphasizes that although the province’s cultivated area has increased from 250,000 hectares in 1982 to 135,000 in 2021, the olive grove remains stable. It is attributed to an improvement in productivity, with an increase in production from 20,000 tons to 40,000 per 25,000 hectares over the same period. The estimated economic value of the said production has also increased by 50% in the last eleven years, from 10.9 million Euros to 23.85. On the other hand, 6,000 tons of extra virgin oil Those produced by the Alicante oil mills account for half of what is produced in the Community of Valencia.
Finally, the following was also discussed during the conference: promoting oil tourism Another option is to increase the visibility of the traditional olive grove, according to Enrique Moltó of the UA-Dénia Gasterra Mediterranean Gastronomy Center.