South Africa (Common Wealth) _ South Africa, the well-known wine maker, is hoping to gain the access to the lucrative market for premium extra virgin oil with the support of unfazed and potential farmers in the nation. The industry is currently undisputedly ruled by Greece, Italy, and Spain.
The farmers at Tokara, a farm about an hour’s drive from Cape Town, rake maturing olives through trees so they fall to the ground.
In this well-known wine area near the southern tip of Africa, where the scenery is reminiscent of Tuscany, the green treasure harvest is in full gear.
Gert van Dyk, 49, the farm’s operations manager, holds out a glass of freshly squeezed extra virgin olive oil and asks, “Can you smell” the aroma an honor earlier this year in the United States.
The pleasant bitterness is detectable in the throat’s back. He says, rolling the light green liquid over his tongue like a wine expert, “Then the pepperiness comes through and the back of the throat is burning nicely.”
The estate, which first focused on wine, now offers tastings of oil, one of its main products.
French chef Christophe Dehosse, 55, boasts, “We have really extraordinary quality olive oil.”
He remembers that not many people used olive oil when he first went to the countryside 30 years ago.
But now that many farmers have begun to produce olives, there is really no reason to purchase olive oil that is 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away from Europe ,” remarked Dehosse, who operates four eateries in the area.
“We truly receive fantastic, artisanal products.” ‘Very stylish’
He serves a “very fashionable” Italian-style appetizer at his table that consists of plain bread coated in olive oil.
He always chooses oil that is produced nearby. “I am aware that nothing I purchase has been altered in any way. It is only extra virgin olive oil in its whole.
According to SA Olive, an association of growers and producers, an Italian immigrant named Fernando Costa grew the first South African olives in the early 20th century.
Then, in 1998, Giulio Bertrand, an Italian expatriate living in South Africa, planted 17 different kinds of olive trees on his farm there.
On 42 hectares today, the Morgenster farm produces olive trees, and Bertrand’s original olive trees were the ancestors of millions of trees across the nation.
“My grandfather was known as the father of olive oil in South Africa as he paved the way to the olive oil industry as we know it today,” claims Vittoria Castagnetta, Bertrand’s 29-year-old granddaughter and employee of the still-running family firm.
Since then, the picturesque hills of the Cape region have produced olives known for their high quality outside of the nation due to its Mediterranean environment and rolling vineyards.
At the famous EVOOLEUM awards in Spain in May, a South African oil won the title of “Absolute Best Olive Oil” in the world.
The winning property, De Rustica, is 400 miles away from Stellenbosch and boasts a Mediterranean climate.
While many South Africans still view olive oil as a luxury item, manufacturers like Van Dyk have recently observed “an increase in demand from the local market” as a result of people’s desire for healthier diets.
It might take some time for South Africa to compete with major international brands because the country only produces up to two million liters of olive oil yearly, compared to a global output of over three million tons.
But one accomplishment South Africa can truly be proud of is making inroads into the premium oil sector. It just needs to be discovered, just like our wine,” the chef added.
But given that some of the world’s traditional producers are moving to Europe, South Africa may begin to position itself for the export market confronting obstacles in the face of ongoing heat waves and droughts.
Recent months have seen a sharp increase in the price of olive oil due to low production brought on by climate calamities.
According to the global oil brokerage firm Baillon Intercor, oil sold for 3,500 euros ($3,700) per tonne in January 2022, rose to 5,300 euros a year later, and soared to 5,800 euros this month.
