The Greek Olive Oil Trade Association was founded

With the aim of strengthening and reorganizing the olive oil trade sector, the Greek Olive Oil Trade Association, at the initiative of professionals active in the production, intermediation and standardisation of the product.

In the founding declaration, the members of the Coordination Committee stress the need for collective, organised action facing the major challenges of the industry, such as:

• Low producer prices compared to international competition,

• Lack of coordination at the level of promotion and export,

• The need to invest in quality improvement, research and evidence-based prevention impacts of climate change,

• The need reduction of production costs and strengthening the Funding.

The Coordinating Committee is composed of ten professionals with a strong presence in the sector, from Crete, Laconia, Ilia, Lesvos and the Peloponnese.

Below is the relevant press release: 

FOUNDING DECLARATION OF THE GREEK OLIVE OIL TRADE ASSOCIATION

We, the undersigned, sign this Founding Declaration of the Greek Olive Oil Trade Association we took this initiative, sensing the criticality of the time for the Greek olive oil, in order to present our own proposals and ideas not only to our colleagues who are active in the olive oil trade but to all those who participate in the value chain, from primary production and olive growers, millers/ millers, the standardisation industry, exporters, to the retail market and consumption. The only ones who are excluded as regular members are those companies that are active in parallel and in competitive vegetable and animal fats and oils.

We highlight some of the greatest challenges of our time - a call for collective, organised action to address them:

• Producer prices (wholesale) for Greek olive oil are consistently below those of other countries. Supply is fragmented among many thousands of sellers with insufficient knowledge of market conditions and limited bargaining power.
• Coordinated actions are required with the partnership of the State and the Regions to tackle climate change, to increase the quantity produced and to continuously improve quality.
• Making the most of European and national funds, stopping their waste, establishing effective control mechanisms, which can and should be simplified at the level of beneficiaries. Easy access to bank loans on terms similar to those in other oil-producing countries.
• Reducing energy costs for everyone from farming to industry.
• An integrated multi-faceted plan for the promotion of Greek olive oil and the promotion of consumption in the domestic and international market. Let's set a target to increase the shares of Greek branded standardized olive oil by at least 2%.
• A realistic plan to reduce the 17-litre bulk can without reducing the income of real olive growers. Also expanding the use of branded olive oils in mass catering.
• Funding scientific research, its popularisation and dissemination.

In the last decades, all collective entities have been weakened: agricultural cooperatives, private companies, interprofessional organisations, and this is the main reason for the devaluation of Greek olive oil.

Ο Greek Olive Oil Trade Association intends to fill a major gap in the trade sector by linking mills/presses with the standardisation industry. On this sound basis that responds to the modern problems of Greek olive oil we call on all businesses, private and cooperative, to join our project.

The Initiative Coordinating Committee

1. Vassilakis Yannis
   Property: Olive oil marketing and brokerage services, olive oil production & marketing consultant, M.Sc.
   Company: Vassilakis Christos Unipersonal IKE
   Crete
2. Dimitris Vasilakos
   Property: Technologist agronomist, quality manager
   Company: Polymenakos Maxouli S.A.
   Laconia
3. Vostanis Stefanos
   Property: Manager Katsakoulis S.A. - Panel Member ELGO DIMITRA Lesvos, Olive Oil Marketing & Standardization
   Company: Katsakoulis S.A.
   Lesbos
4. Kyriakopoulou Georgia
   Property: Olive oil marketing & brokerage services
   Company.
   Ilia
5. Nicolarakis George
   Property: Production, marketing & standardization of olive oil
   Company: ELASION S.A.
   Lasithi
6. Sellas Yannis
   Property: Production, marketing & standardization of olive oil
   Company: Sellas Olive House
   Corinth
7. Stavrakakis Minos
   Property: Marketing of olive oil
   Company: Ianthos S.A.
   Heraklion
8. Favas Dimitrios
   Property: Technologist agronomist in plant production, olive oil taster, olive oil production, marketing & mediation
   Company: Olive groves Favas
   Laconia
9. Psaroudakis Ioannis
   Property: Marketing & standardization of olive oil
   Company: Psaroudakis Olive Oils S.A.
   Chania
10. Alieos Dimitra
    Property: Economist PhD, international olive oil trade expert

For more information, please contact us at: diakirixi.oliveoil@gmail.com.