Adding value to olive oil, up for debate

The Catalan Extra Virgin Olive Oil Forum (FOOVE) brought together more than 200 professionals from across the country in les Borges Blanques on Wednesday 2 October to debate the olive oil sector in four round tables. Prodeca's head of the olive oil sector, Rosalba Arrufat, took part in the debate on the product's value and how to increase its consumption.  

The meeting brought together 24 speakers and more than 200 professionals to discuss the future of olive oil from various perspectives: production, gastronomy, health and marketing. Rosalba Arrufat, head of Prodeca's olive oil sector, took part in the "Distribute" round table moderated by Lluís Bofill, director of Gastroevents, alongside other experts: Tana Collados, TV3 food and cookery journalist; Ferran Casas, journalist at Nació Digital; Francesc Reguant, chair of the agri-food economics committee of the Catalan Association of Economists; Joan Sabartés, Operations Director at Bon Preu; Patrick Torrent, executive director of the Catalan Tourist Board; Mireia Medina, head of service at the Cabrils Agri-food Laboratory of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARP); and Xavier Vicens, director of the Official Tasting Panel for Catalan Virgin Olive Oils (DARPA).

Rosalba Arrufat highlighted the business fabric of Catalonia's olive oil sector, in which 99% of producing companies are SMEs, and its export capacity, as 30% sell their products abroad. She also noted the sector's export potential, with international sales reaching €600M in 2023, a figure already exceeded in the first 7 months of 2024 with more than €630M exported. Sales have grown particularly in markets with high purchasing power in countries such as the United States, Italy, France and the United Kingdom.

In fact, the Catalan olive oil sector is strongly export-oriented. It sells to more than 160 countries, although 81% of the volume sold is concentrated in the top 10, with Italy the main destination (28.2% of the total). Our EU partners take 57% of the total.
Catalonia shows a high degree of geographical diversification in its overseas sales, greater than that of our main competitors and increasing in recent years.

In her remarks, Arrufat highlighted the  production capacity of the Spanish olive oil sector, which must go a step further and become more market-oriented. For this reason, the attributes of our olive oil must be strengthened so they become a source of differentiation and add value to the product and, crucially, match consumer demands. That is the challenge for the Catalan olive oil sector.

Among the round table's conclusions, there was agreement on the potential of Catalan oil. To exploit it, the sector needs to explain itself more and better and build a winning narrative anchored in a positive imagery. In a context of globalisation and banalisation, distinctive features must be strengthened. Likewise, Catalonia's designation as World Region of Gastronomy 2025 is an opportunity to spread awareness of our landscape and cultural heritage through olive oil.