By Mr. Georgoudis, President of PEMETE.

PEMETE represents about 60 companies that process, standardize, pack and export all varieties of Greek table olives in different forms, packings and flavours offering to the consumer a healthy, nutritional, tasty and safe product.

The olive tree is without doubt a tree of mythical proportions.  Its history goes back hand in hand with the founding and development of civilizations around the Mediterranean.  Its fruit, the olive, has been used through the centuries for the extraction of οil and the consumption as table olives.

The table olive is a fruit coming from a diverse variety of olive trees and harvested at the right degree of maturity.  When prepared in a precise manner, it results in a product ready to be eaten.  It is available in different qualities, shapes, colors, forms, flavouring and tastes.

Table olives are usually consumed as. appetizers or in salads. However, over the last few years, the olive has caught the imagination of contemporary chefs, so that in todays Greek kitchen, olives are everywhere:  in breads, in pasta, in pies  , in stuffings, in pizzas, in dips and sauces.

For thousand of years table olives have been a basic component of the Mediterranean diet.  They have great nutritional value.  Their goodness and quality is comparable to those of its derivative, the olive oil and their consumption is beneficial to health.  Table olives are rich in energy, minerals and vitamins and have great antioxidant properties.

Greece produces an average of about 120.000 tons of table olives yearly.  This production is second in the EU and fifth in the world.  From these quantities about 40.000 tons are consumed locally and about 80.000 tons are exported to about 80 countries around the world, amounting to about 6,5% of exported Greek agricultural products.  PEMETE members account for about 80% of these exports.  Main markets that Greek table olives are exported to are:  Italy, U.S.A., Australia, Germany, Canada, Bulgaria, United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia.

In Greece there are many olive varieties.  However, only some of them satisfy the quality requirements allowing them to be used for table consumption.  The three main Greek table olive varieties which are unique in quality, taste and texture, having a good flesh to stone ratio are the following:

1. Conservolia:  This is the most commercially important variety accounting for about 50% of table olive production in Greece.  It is a medium to large fruit, round to oval-shaped, has a thin, elastic skin and the pulp has a fine, consistent texture.  They are processed with equal success as both a green and black olive.

2. Kalamata: The King of Greek table olives and one of the best-known olives in the world.  It accounts for about 20% of table olive production in Greece.  Kalamatas are shiny, brownish-black, tight-skinned with a characteristic ‘’almond’’ shape.  The Kalamata is the most highly prized black olive; it is usually slit on both sides and preserved in vinegar and olive oil.

3. Halkidiki:.  This variety is mainly grown in the Halkidiki peninsula, in Northern Greece, accounting for about 20% of table olive production in Greece.  These olives are the classic, large Greek olives;  elongated with a prominent tip at the bottom.

These table olive varieties and some others which are smaller in production are offered in different forms like whole, pitted, stuffed, sliced or cracked.

What makes the Greek table olive probably the best in the world?

1. Firstly, the unique soil, sun and climate.  in Greece create suitable conditions so that the hundreds of years old olive trees offer their best fruit every year.  These fruits are of excellent quality, taste and flavor.  In Greece nowadays there are 10 different table olive products certified as PDO (protected designation of origin) products;  meaning that the EU guarantees consumers the extra quality of these products, closely related to the place of their production.  However, in countries outside the EU the PDO products are regularly misused - meaning that products from other countries are sold under PDO names falsely.  A characteristic example of this is the name of Kalamata olives used deceptively by companies from other countries.

2. The second unique advantage of the Greek table olives is that they are natural products.  This means that they ripen naturally on the trees, turning from green to greenish-yellow, greenish-red, purple and then black.  These naturally Black table olives - mainly of Conservolia and Kalamata varieties - are cured in brine solution only, in order that their bitterness is eliminated during the fermentation process.

A recent study of American consumers’s preferences for foreign food products ranked Greek products third after French and Italian;  this is a significant natural advantage of Greek exporters.  Traditionally, Greek table olives have been exported mainly in bulk.  Only a small percentage of about 10% is packed in consumer size packings.  Nowadays, the Greek table olive industry is focusing not only in delivering more branded products but also offering them is pasteurized forms with lower salt, thus meeting current consumers demand for a healthier diet.

Emphasis is given today by the industry on research, quality and promotion of the Greek table olives.  Research is carried out on new methods of processing, on ways to deal with waste, on new fillings according to consumer preferences, on new packings and on developing ecologically more safe products.  Quality issues include applying more strict quality standards in processing, packaging and commercilization of table olives using traceability of the products.

PEMETE has issued guidelines to the farmers on how to cultivate, harvest and store their table olives and encourages the application of codes of good agricultural practices and integrated crop management to their production.  Finally, during the last 3 years, PEMETE has begun promoting the Greek table olive by advertising, in-store promotions and exhibiting in International food shows. During the next 3 years, similar promotional activities are planned in the U.S. and Canada and possibly other European countries  .

In closing, let me again stress the unique and distinct advantages of  Greek table olives. Grown in the fertile land of Greece, matured under the sun, full of taste, completely natural and nutritious, hand-picked and prepared in a traditional way:  Greek olives embody all these qualities, delivering to the consumer perhaps the best olives in the world.  But it really depends on us (the Greek table olive industry), the Greek farmers, and the Greek state to improve on our strengths, explore new opportunities and develop action plans for the future of the Greek table olive.