Professor Alsaed A.K. University of Jordan Olive oil processing Professor Alsaed A.K. University of Jordan

Jordanian olive oil industry Introduction Olive tree is considered the most important tree in Jordan. Total area cultivated with olives is estimated at about 645000 donum, constituting 71% of the area planted with fruit trees and 26% of the total planted area. The total No. of olive trees in the country is about 12m, producing 180000 tone olive fruits where 30000 tone is used for pickling and the rest is used for oil pressing giving about 20000 to 28000 tone of olive oil The olive fruit average production per 1 donum is about 205 kg which is considered relatively low.

The country reached recently (year 2000) to self-sufficiency with regard to olive oil and a surplus of about 7000 tone/year is recorded Due to the new planting of olives in the last 15 years(1990-2004) the olive cultivated area increased to about 177% 77% of the olive trees take their need of water from raining fall where as the rest (23%) are being irrigated Consumption of olive oil (per capita) in Jordan is considered low(4 kg/year) compared to 7 kg in Syria and 20 kg in Greece zxzasAA x ccccccccccc

Drawbacks of the Jordanian olive sector The Jordanian olive sector faces some drawbacks such as: A. The production cost is high due to the high cost for fertilizers, pesticides, employee and irrigation water B. The low productivity of the olive tree grown in Jordan(15-30kg) C. The low quality of a major part of the locally produced olive oil due to some incorrect practices such as rough handling and improper harvesting (methods and timing), unsuitable packing, transportation and storage of the olive fruit

D. The research activities regarding the Jordanian olive sector are still in their infancy stage compared with other olive producing countries i.e. research institutes are not existing, limited number of specialized laboratories for quality characterizing of olive oil are available … etc E. The competitivety of the Jordanian olive oil in the international markets is low since major part of the quantity available for exporting does not comply with the international standards F. The other olive products like olive pickles and other olive by-products i.e olive meal or cake or olive water are not utilized efficiently

Olive varieties grown in Jordan The number of common varieties cultivated in the country reaches to about 20. The most popular variety is Nabali where oil percentage reaches to about 34% Another two varieties having excellent olive flavor are Quanbeesi and Souri Nasohi gabaa2 is considered the best for green and black pickles purposes Ascolano, Santcatrine and Santaugastine are the best for pickled olive paste processing

Raseeai variety (improved Nabali) is used for both oil production (olive percentage may reach to 28%) and pickling Nabali, Raseeai and Grossadi (Spain) are the varieties that can tolerate dry conditions whereas Nasohi gabaa2 are suitable for high attitudes and high precipitation (rainfall) areas. On the other hand, Turkish origin varieties such as Ivolic, Jaker and Ormjek suit deserts and can be irrigated with salty water

Insects and Diseases Insects infestation and diseases spreadibility are considered relatively low in Jordan compared with other olive producing countries Such decrease in diseases and pest infestation might be due mainly to the low relative humidity prevalent for several months in the olive cultivated areas In some years intensive infestation may occur for olive trees encountering water shortage and grown outside their suitable area

Olive harvesting Harvesting is conducted either manually or mechanically. Manual methods in spite of their advantages in having almost intact and sound fruits but they are costly and constitute about 40 % of the total production cost The mechanical harvesting is practiced widely in the developed countries and on small scale in the underdeveloped countries where it is characterized by being costly

Improper harvesting is probably the most significant problem facing the olive sector either on national or international scale Sometimes incorrect practices are being used in olive harvesting such as using sticks or gathering and combining fallen and infested or diseased olive fruits with those harvested freshly from the trees

It is well established that for olive oil production, fruits should be harvested according to the ripening equation which was developed by the Spanish olive research center By using this equation, the proper harvesting time is determined by computing the change in color of the olive fruits. Proper harvesting time is reached when this change in color is about 60 -70% Unfortunately, many of the Jordanian olive farmers are not familiar with this equation which affects significantly the quality of the produced olive oil

Olive postharvest treatment Packing, transportation and storage of olive fruit The proper pack for olive fruit is the ventilated plastic box. Although it is used by some Jordanian olive farmers, major part of Jordanian farmers use the jute or plastic bag with inefficient ventilation Due to the short period of the olive season (4-6 weeks), sometimes the olive fruits are stored under unsuitable conditions (high temperature, low relative humidity, unsuitable packs, inefficient ventilation …etc leading to inferior olive oil quality) for a relatively long time (3-10 days)

Pressing According to the international olive oil standard, virgin olive oil is defined as the oil obtained from olives using mechanical or physical methods only and under specific conditions Pressing includes many steps such as feeding, washing, crushing and milling, paste mixing or malefaction, separation of the phases, separation of the oil from the musty and filtration, filling and storage

Three types of olive press are being used for olive oil production i Three types of olive press are being used for olive oil production i.e the pressure process, centrifugation process, combined method or what is called sinolea or selective filtration or percolation method Total No. of olive press in Jordan is about 107, with a capacity of about 300 tone/hr. Part of these presses were established before 1990 and it is old and produce about 40% of the produced olive oil. The second part of presses was established between 1990 and 2000; they have new technology and press about 40% of the olive oil. The 3rd part of the presses was established after 2001 and use highly sofisticated technology and produce about 20% of the olive oil

Ordinary virgin olive oil Some Sensory&chemical Table no. 1. Some sensory & chemical quality properties of olive oil as is in the modified local specification Lampanti virgin olive oil Ordinary virgin olive oil Virgin olive oil Extra virgin olive oil Some Sensory&chemical properties Average ≤ 6.0 2.5 ≥ Average≥6.0 0.0 ≥ Average≥2.5 0.0 Defects(Average) < 0.0 Fruity (Average) < 3.3 3.3 2.0 0.8 Free acidity unlimited 20 Peroxide No.

Table No. 2.Olive oil profile form used to evaluate the sensory properties (to be filled by the taster) Defects perception intensity Heated-up Mouldy Metalic Rancid Positive attribute perception Fruity Bitter Pungent Taster name Sample code Date

Production of fruit (Tone) Table no. 3. The area & production of olives & oil production in the years between 1996- 2002 Production from oil (Thousand Tone) Production of fruit (Tone) Total Area (donom) Year 14.2 88590 547821 1996 9.1 57145 616.170 1997 22 137549 626040 1998 5.2 38313 632599 1999 18.3 134285 637529 2000 10.5 65820 641010 2001 28.9 180900 644840 2002 15.9 82898.5 Average

Table No.4.the Jordanian market of olive oil in the years between(1996- 2002) Local Price (JD/ Kg) Consumption (Thousand Tone) Imports ( Tone) Production ( Thousand Tone) 2.625 22 89.4 23 19 2199 14.1 2.5 3438 21. 9 173 6.6 2.25 20 - 27.2 2.15 18 15.4 1.65 (23) (8)

Table No.5. Evaluation of the local olive presses There are more than 107 presses of olive oil in Jordan classified into three categories: c. presses established after 2001 Press about 20% of annual production. Was build & equipped to go with national requirement; production, storage, packaging. Now, these companies try to enter international markets by selling their special products. Many local & foreign sponsors held a field studies on the state of presses and put the required recommendations to develop this section. presses established between 1992 - 2002 Press about 40% of annual production. Considered new, some developing was made to walk with the great revolution occur in this section. A presses of great capabilities was established with the investment transform from small family into a large manufacturing. This phase helped in the production of Jordanian olive oil of fine quality. presses established before 1992 Old, their equipments & building were not established on the national specifications. Equipment & Building should be m modernized, converted into the cold pressing, Increase the efficiency of management & storage, for the production of fine olive oil that meet the national specification.

Figure 1. The manual picking of olives

Figure 2. The using of combs for the picking of olives

Figure 3. The using of mechanical combs for olives picking

Figure 4. The using of mechanical combs for olives picking

Figure 5. The using of ladders for olives picking

Figure 6. The using of ladders for olives picking

Figure 7. The mechanical harvesting of olives

Figure 8. The mechanical harvesting of olives

Figure 9. The using of stick for olives picking

Figure 10. Steps of the extraction of olive oil by pressing method

Figure 11. Steps for the extraction of olive oil by centrifugation method

Figure 12. Steps for the extraction of olive oil by senoila method

Figure 13. The producing countries of olive oil 1020 Producer countries of olive oil 1050 900 750 Thousand Ton 600 558 450 410 300 150 103 60 60 50 45 40 15 10 8 7 6 5 . 5 Tunisia PORTUGAL Greece Jordan Cyprus Spain Syria Libya Turkey Morocco Argentine Argentine Lebanon

Figure14. The main producers of olive oil Other countries 18% Spain 42% Greece 17% Italy 23%

Figure 15. The main importer countries of olive oil 100 200 300 USA European Union Brazil Australia Japan Canada Million Ton The main Importers

Figure 16. Exports & imports of the 3 main producers of olive oil 500 1000 Spain Italy Greece Thousand Ton Imports + Production Exports Consumption The case of Italy

Figure 17. The main exporters of olive oils 100 200 300 European Union Tunisia Turkey Syria Million Ton The Main Exporters

Figure 18. Quantities of olive oil consumed all over the world Global Consumption 1000 2000 3000 Consumption in 1991 Consumption in 2002 Thousand Tons

Figure 19. The Countries that form the untraditional market of olive oil The Untraditional Markets 50 100 150 200 ِِ Canada Australia France Germany Britain Consumption in 1991 Consumption in 2002

Figure 20. The Global & local prices of olive oil Global & Local Prices of Olive Oils 1 2 3 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 * JD/ Individual Local Price Global Price

Figure 21. Consumption from olive oil & other vegetable oils 4 8 12 16 olive oil Kg/ Individual

Figure 22. The Jordanian exports of olive oil 500 1000 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Thousand Ton Exports Mean Value

Figure 23. The main market of the Jordanian olive oil exports UAE 11% Kuwait 21.8% Qatar 0.21% USA 9.6% Ukraine 4% ٍSudan 0.23% Saudi Arabia 53.2%