Antonio Gallego García, the commercial manager of Migasa, one of Spain’s largest olive oil packaging and bottling companies, has been elected as the new president of the Spanish Association of Olive Oil Exporting, Industry and Commerce (Asoliva).
Gallego replaces José Pont Amenós, who had previously been at the helm of Asoliva for 17 years but decided not to run for a fifth term.
Asoliva is currently made up of 50 member companies, mostly based in Catalonia and Andalusia. According to its own statistics, Asoliva’s members make up roughly 95 percent of bottled olive oil exports from Spain and about 50 to 70 percent of bulk exports.
Gallego’s first challenge as the head of the group will be keeping Spanish olive oil competitive in the lucrative United States market. The U.S. recently imposed a 25 percent tariff on bottled olive oil from Spain, which is likely to remain in place indefinitely.
In the past, Gallego has criticized olive oil producers for not investing enough in the promotion of their products in new markets. Back in April, he urged producers to “not cry [about the record-low prices] and spend their money on promotion.”