Fresher, Domestic Olive Oil Gains Attention

08/15/2018 - 14h00

Brazilian stores are switching their usual Portuguese and Greek olive oil offerings for domestic product.

Olive farming is recent in Brazil - the first trees were planted in Southern Brazil in 2010, where the largest farms are located.

Domestic production should reach 120,000 liters - a 20% increase. It's still a tiny number when compared with the 60,000 tons of olive oil imported by Brazil every year. Domestic olive oil is equivalent to only 2% of per capita consumption, of 430 mililiters annually.

For chef Luciano Nardellu, domestic olive oil has the advantage of a discernible aroma, because it arrives in the table fresher than the import, sometimes only weeks after pressed. "It's a product that I know where it comes from and when it was made," he said.

In contrast, imported olive oil only arrive in Brazil in the next harvest, losing features during the trip.

Brazilian olive farmers feel that they surpassed insurmountable obstacles. Olive trees need hot summers, little rain and 500 hours of intense cold every year - a weather that is typical from the Mediterranean, but not of Brazil.

High cost and scarce distribution are, for the moment, the biggest enemies of Brazilian olive oil. Sales are restricted to small emporiums and online stores. Prices are around R$ 40 (US$ 10) for a 250 mililiter jar.

Translated by NATASHA MADOV

Read the article in the original language