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South Africa presses into extra virgin oil market

Posted on: Sunday, 17 July 2005, 20:15 CDT

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."

Source: REUTERS

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