Olives Production in Australia (2019)

Overview

Olives are a common fruit that is grown in all major states of Australia. However, the majority of production is grown in Victoria. Almost all of these fruits that are grown in Australia are for olive oil production. Both of these forms are popular in Australia. Since the olive tree can survive for thousands of years, it is one of the oldest cultivated trees in existence at the present time. Moreover, because of its tough and rugged nature, it can survive most environmental damages. These vegetables flourish where there are good drainage and cool winters, with hot dry summers without humidity. That’s most of Southern Australia. Furthermore, olive oil has been traded among the civilizations throughout the world for centuries, so it seems probable that many of the ships arriving on our shores would have carried some olive trees for planting.

Today, the Australian olive industry is a modern production system for excellent quality oil. In traditional olive-growing regions, mechanical harvesting using trunk shakers was once considered as the best and most reliable method for reducing labour costs over the past decade. Today, continuous straddle harvesting machines are used which have been adapted or developed for Australian conditions with great success. These are currently used for more than 75% of Australian production. Australia produces mostly extra virgin oil. The natural diversity of the Australian environment along with the selection of the most productive cultivars, harvested and processed under optimal conditions, is responsible for the exciting range of high-quality olive oil products from Australia.

Statistics

As of 2019:

1. 125,000 tonnes of this fruit was produced in all the states of Australia. Out of this amount, 118,750 tonnes of this fruit was extracted for oil. 21.6 million litres of oil was produced from the olive extracts.
2. The consumption of this oil per capita was 2.1 kg, based on the volume supplied.
3. The wholesale value of the oil supply was $155 million, while the wholesale value of the table supply was $101 million.

Major Olive Production Areas

The majority of this fruit is produced in the Victorian region. The largest producing area is the Murray Valley region, which is situated north-west of Victoria. Some of the other areas where this particular fruit is grown are the Riverina region and Boort.

Olive Oil International Trade

As of June 2019, Australia successfully imported 33,274 tonnes of this oil. However, this recorded amount does not include table olives.

Article by: Hari Yellina (Orchard Tech)