The Ismaili capital hosted the fourth edition of the International Olive Oil Forum. This edition was marked by highlighting the Spanish, Italian, Tunisian, and Moroccan experience in the field.

"Competitiveness and marketing of olive oil: Mediterranean experiences" is the theme of the fourth edition of the International Olive Oil Forum, which took place recently in Meknes. Organised by the Agropole, in partnership with the Union for the Development of the Olive Tree in Meknes, with the support of the prefectural council, Crédit Agricole, the Olivier Promo Foundation, and the LCM Aïcha group.

This year's edition, whose theme aligned with one of the main concerns of the Moroccan olive sector—namely the competitiveness and marketing of olive oil—saw the participation of eminent experts and operators from the Moroccan and Mediterranean olive sectors. It provided an opportunity to take stock of the Spanish, Italian, Tunisian, and Moroccan experience in the matter.

The highlight of this forum was the focus on the Spanish experience in terms of professional organisation, particularly olive cooperatives, whose operation is based on specialisation between olive and oil production, packaging, and distribution.

Regarding the case of Tunisia, actions and institutional support for the storage, packaging, and marketing of olive oil were highlighted. As for Italy, the world's second-largest producer with 400,000 tonnes per year, olive oil is considered a transversal food at the base of one of the most famous diets in the world, namely the Mediterranean diet.

In his speech regarding the subject of Moroccan olive oil, Dr Noureddine Ouazzani, head of the Meknes Olive Agropole, specified that the commercial and communicative aspect of quality olive oil has always been the weak link in the Moroccan olive sector. "We have always paid more attention to production, and that was normal given its weakness, whereas olive oil should be perceived as a quality product compared to other vegetable oils and deserves a higher commercial value," he indicated, stressing that "the other handicap from which the sector suffers remains competitiveness at the international market level, because the main competing countries grant higher subsidies than those granted to national producers".