Amid the crisis, the agriculture industry of Greece has managed to present some surprising results, including the establishment of its wine as a respectable player in the global market, and feta boosting its U.S. sales by 87 percent in the first semester of 2012. During the same time period, olive oil exports to China increased by 50 percent, indicating that the sector can be a pillar of the long-awaited economic recovery and development.
As a response, the Ministry of Agriculture has decided to further strengthen olive oil exports by providing €10 million in the next three years and by devising a promotional plan aiming mainly at the United States, Norway, Russia and Ukraine, China and Australia. Apart from participating in food expos, there will be new techniques like olive oil tasting events, gastronomic trips to Greece for journalists, traders and retailers and the power of the social media.
Architects of the plan say the secret weapon of Greek olive oil is its quality, as the Greek Minister of Agriculture stated: “Whenever we emphasized in quality and extroversion and approached markets according to their idiosyncrasies, exports skyrocketed.”
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