South Africa presses into extra virgin oil market

By Anton Ferreira

RIEBEEK KASTEEL, South Africa (Reuters) – South Africa’s
wines have won fans around the world, but few gourmets know
about the country’s other contribution to fine dining — extra
virgin olive oil.

That could soon change if the growing number of boutique
oil-makers in South Africa, who say their product compares with
the best from Spain, Italy and Greece, have their way.

“Producers (in South Africa) are going really big — it’s
going to be an exciting industry in a couple of years,” said
Paul Robinson, marketing and sales director for Willow Creek,
one of the country’s top oil-makers.

Willow Creek, in the Nuy valley in the heart of South
Africa’s main wine-making region in the Western Cape, won a
coveted Grand Mention Diploma this year at the Leone d’Oro dei
Mastri Oleari olive oil awards in Perugia, Italy, which
Robinson said put the oil on a par with the best in the world.

But like all South African olive oil labels, Willow Creek’s
production is still tiny relative to European standards. It
exported about 4,000 litres last year, mainly to Britain,
Finland and Germany.

John Scrimgeour, chairman of the South African Olive
Industry Association, said the country’s total olive oil
production last year was 490 tonnes, compared with total world
output of about 3 million tonnes.

“But it’s a growing industry, make no mistake,” he said.
“We’re exporting very little — we’re battling to meet local
demand.”

MEDITERRANEAN DIET

Scrimgeour said South Africans were using more olive oil
due to a growing belief in the health benefits of a
Mediterranean-style diet.

But he and other South African olive oil producers said
local consumers needed to taught how to tell a high quality oil
from a mediocre one.

Most of South Africa’s output is of extra virgin standard
– meaning it has less than 0.8 percent fatty acids.

“You won’t get any benefits from third rate olives,” said
Carlo Costa, whose grandfather is credited with starting South
Africa’s first commercial olive operation in the Paarl district
about 50 km (30 miles) east of Cape Town.

“There’s olive oil and there’s olive oil,” he said. “An
olive mustn’t smell like dirty socks.”

South African producers complain that olive farmers in
Europe are heavily subsidised, which means an imported Spanish
or Italian oil can cost half as much as a South African oil in
local supermarkets.

But they say the South African oil is worth the extra money
because it is fresher than the imports.

Jan Pretorius, oil maker at the Olive Shed near
Stellenbosch, holds olive oil tastings in which he first passes
around an imported oil for visitors to smell, then follows it
with his own products pressed from three different cultivars –
Frantoio, Leccino and Mission.

The Olive Shed exports small quantities to Switzerland and
Denmark, thanks not to any focused marketing effort but simply
because tourists toured the mill and liked what they found.

“Europeans like the slightly sweeter taste of South African
oil,” Pretorius said.

COMPETITION

Costa said South African producers, who press their oil
during the European off season because they are in the southern
hemisphere, could take advantage of this to export to northern
hemisphere consumers who wanted a “fresh-out-the-mill flavour.”

“We have competition from Chile and Australia, but that’s
good. Our oils do very well in international competition.”

Kloovenburg Estate in Riebeek Kasteel, 90 km (50 miles)
north of Cape Town, won a prestigious mention last year in the
Italian world olive oil guide published by Cucina and Vini,
which named it as one of the best 15 oils in the world.

“We exported last year for the first time, to Europe and
America,” said the estate’s marketing director Annalene du
Toit. “Not very much — about 1,500 litres — but there are
lots of possibilities.”

Willow Creek’s Robinson said olive plantings were
exploding, with people ordering 10,000 or 20,000 trees at a
time. The rapid expansion is partly due to the olive tree’s
modest water requirement — much of the country suffers
periodic droughts.

“The key is marketing,” Robinson said. “There’s a little
bit of surprise in Europe that South Africa produces olive oil.
But … people know South Africa makes good wines, so we have
been able to ride on wine’s coat tails.”