Thursday 19 de july de 2018
After 4 days of meetings among members of the international organization, the event chaired by Argentina concluded with an address by the Secretary for International Economic Relations of the Foreign Ministry, Horacio Reyser, and by the Secretary for Agro-industrial Markets of the Ministry of Agro-industry, Marisa Bircher.
“Our country is working to become one of the new leading actors of the global olive sector outside the Mediterranean,” Secretary for International Economic Relations Horacio Reyser stated today as he closed the 107th session of the International Olive Council (IOC) held at the Palacio San Martín.
Reyser referred to the olive oil and olives sector as “a strategic area of great importance to our economy” and stated that “cooperation among IOC countries is key to the growth of the olive sector.” He also highlighted that “on the basis of consensus-building and international cooperation, at the IOC we will lay the foundations for fostering trade exchanges in the sector and turning olive trees into a tool for sustainable development.”
In turn, the Secretary for Agro-industrial Markets of the Ministry of Agro-industry, Marisa Bircher, stated that “this event, in addition to other major events such as the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference and the G20 Presidency, is a sign of support from the international community which we really appreciate in Argentina,” adding that: “the olive sector is emblematic, because of our high-quality products and their good performance in global markets.” Argentina is America’s largest producer and exporter and the world’s 5th largest exporter of table olives and 6th largest exporter of olive oil.
In the presence of representatives of the 14 IOC member countries and 9 observers, this meeting was the most important global event of the olive oil and table olives sector. IOC members account for 98% of producers and 71% of consumers, including Argentina, Algeria, Egypt, the European Union, Israel, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey and Uruguay, among others.
Today marked the end of the IOC session, in which administrative, financial and chemical standardization issues were addressed and members presented developments. In addition, the IOC accepted Argentina’s sponsorship request for a national contest organized by the province of San Juan in the context of “Argoliva 2018” in September 2018, which will support our national olive sector in showcasing its potential.