By Daniel Williams
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Barcelona
In several weeks a Syrian delegation will travel to Venezuela to confirm a bilateral treaty approving the transfer of olive oil technology and information between the two countries. This recent collaboration is part of President Hugo Chavez’s greater plan to strengthen ties, both commercial and otherwise, with like-minded states like Syria.
“Venezuela’s relationship with Syria is strategic; it isn’t restricted to economic and trade cooperation only,” said Venezuelan Vice President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro Moros.[1]
Maduro Moros has visited Syria several times already with the intention of solidifying a number of similar bilateral commercial projects. A joint Syrian-Venezuelan commission reviewed the progress of these projects in May and particular emphasis has been placed on the olive oil treaty.
As a rising producer on the world market and leader of the olive oil producing Arab states, Syria will soon distribute some two thousand tons of olive oil throughout South America via the Venezuelan economic network. The Vice President of the Venezuelan Food Corporation, Aníbal Barragán claims that this symbiotic relationship will ultimately benefit both countries.
From this strategic economic cooperation and with the assurance of the president of the Industrias Dianas (the most significant producer in Venezuela’s olive oil sector) the national populace of Venezuela will soon have access to olive oil products at reduced prices. These low prices are expected to open the door to a greater demand for olive oil products in South America – a demand that Syria hopes to fill soon.
To further this olive oil initiative, both sides have planned to host a Syrian-Venezuelan Business Forum in Damascus in March of 2011.
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Syria’s Place in the World’s Top Olive Oil Producing Countries
| Country | Production [2] | Consumption [2] | Annual per capita consumption (kg)[2] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 32% | 20% | 13.62 | |
| Italy | 22% | 30% | 12.35 | |
| Greece | 16% | 9% | 23.7 | |
| Tunisia | 7% | 2% | 11.1 | |
| Turkey | 5% | 2% | 1.2 | |
| Syria | 4% | 3% | 7 | |
| Morocco | 3% | 2% | 1.8 | |
| Portugal | 1% | 2% | 7.1 | |
| United States | 0% | 8% | 0.56 | |
| France | 0% | 4% | 1.34 | |
| Others | 10% | 18% | 1.18 |
- Syrian Arab News Agency:“Bilal, Venezuelan Vice President Discuss Cooperation Prospects”
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development 2005