China Begins Talks to Become Olive Council Member

The International Olive Council (IOC) and China are dis­cussing the country’s acces­sion to the inter­gov­ern­men­tal orga­ni­za­tion.

A del­e­ga­tion from the world’s sec­ond-most pop­u­lous coun­try and sec­ond-largest econ­omy vis­ited IOC head­quar­ters in Madrid in September.

Deng Yu, the direc­tor of the Longnan Olive Oil Research Center, and Robert Woo, the pres­i­dent of the Olive Oil Life Association, met with IOC exec­u­tive direc­tor Jaime Lillo to exam­ine the issue of acces­sion and the recog­ni­tion of more Chinese lab­o­ra­to­ries and tast­ing pan­els.

According to IOC deputy exec­u­tive direc­tor Abderraouf Laajimi, China already has one physico-chem­i­cal lab­o­ra­tory for residue and con­t­a­m­i­nant test­ing and one IOC-rec­og­nized tast­ing panel.

“With the grow­ing inter­est in olive oil con­sump­tion, imports and domes­tic pro­duc­tion in China, it is cru­cial to strengthen qual­ity con­trol for imported and locally pro­duced vir­gin olive oils,” he told Olive Oil Times.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, China pro­duced 8,000 met­ric tons of olive oil in the 2023/24 crop year. The USDA antic­i­pates pro­duc­tion will be about the same in the approach­ing 2024/25 crop year.

IOC data show that Chinese olive oil con­sump­tion has increased dra­mat­i­cally in the past 15 years, ris­ing from 12,000 tons in 2008/09 to a record-high 57,500 tons in 2021/22. In a pre­lim­i­nary esti­mate for the 2023/24 crop year, which ended in September, the IOC fore­casted con­sump­tion to reach 46,000 tons.

“Expanding the num­ber of IOC-rec­og­nized lab­o­ra­to­ries and tast­ing pan­els in China would play a key role in pre­vent­ing fraud, decep­tive prac­tices and adul­ter­ation,” Laajimi said. ​“This would safe­guard con­sumer rights and ensure that olive oils adhere to inter­na­tional stan­dards for purity and qual­ity.”

The IOC esti­mates that China rep­re­sents about four per­cent of global olive oil imports. At their meet­ing, Yu told Lillo that he expects olive oil con­sump­tion to increase by about seven per­cent annu­ally as Chinese con­sumers develop an appetite for olive oil and the prod­uct reaches new audi­ences through mar­ket­ing ini­tia­tives.

According to Yu, in the 60 years since com­mer­cial olive cul­ti­va­tion was intro­duced to China, farm­ers have planted 120,000 hectares of olive trees in the cen­tral Gansu and Sichuan provinces. The coun­try boasts about 50 mills that can pro­duce 11,000 tons of olive oil annu­ally.

While local pro­duc­tion is expected to climb, Laajimi indi­cated that the Chinese mar­ket presents an immense medium- and long-term oppor­tu­nity for olive oil pro­duc­ers and exporters.

“China’s per capita con­sump­tion is just 0.04 kilo­grams per year, high­light­ing its sig­nif­i­cant poten­tial as a grow­ing con­sumer mar­ket,” he said. ​“A close rela­tion­ship with the IOC could fur­ther stim­u­late domes­tic demand through tar­geted pro­mo­tional cam­paigns.”

“China is one of the main importers of olive oil, with Spain as its pri­mary sup­plier,” Laajimi added. ​“Since Spain is part of the E.U., an IOC mem­ber state, fos­ter­ing a closer rela­tion­ship with the IOC could help China bet­ter under­stand and address chal­lenges in its domes­tic olive oil mar­ket.”

Indeed, Spanish pro­duc­ers and pol­i­cy­mak­ers have been work­ing hard in recent years to develop exports to China. According to data from Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Commerce and Business ana­lyzed by Olive Oil Times, Spain pro­vides China with 64 per­cent of its olive oil needs in 2022/23.

Among the chal­lenges cited by Spanish pro­duc­ers doing busi­ness in Spain are edu­cat­ing con­sumers about olive oil’s health ben­e­fits, under­stand­ing Chinese food cul­ture and idio­syn­crasies, and tar­get­ing adver­tis­ing and sup­ply at crit­i­cal moments in the year when olive oil pur­chases are at their high­est.

Given the Chinese del­e­ga­tion’s explicit inter­est in becom­ing the 22^nd mem­ber of the IOC, Laajimi said there is a clear path to acces­sion.

“If China wishes to become a mem­ber of the IOC, it must sub­mit an appli­ca­tion, which would trig­ger a process where the Council of Members decides the country’s quota,” he said. ​“This quota, based on China’s involve­ment in the olive sec­tor, impacts its finan­cial con­tri­bu­tion and vot­ing rights within the IOC.”

Next, Chinese author­i­ties must sign and rat­ify the International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives.

“Once a mem­ber, China would enjoy the rights and oblig­a­tions of mem­ber­ship,” Laajimi said. ​“Becoming an IOC mem­ber grants coun­tries access to inter­na­tional stan­dards, tech­ni­cal exper­tise, mar­ket pro­mo­tion and a say in global olive oil poli­cies.”

“In addi­tion, China would be required to adhere to and enforce the IOC trade stan­dard, ensur­ing the pro­tec­tion of its con­sumers by guar­an­tee­ing olive oil qual­ity and authen­tic­ity in its domes­tic mar­ket,” he added.

• IOC