TEHRAN – Olive oil production in Iran reached 11,600 tons in the previous Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), the manager of the Agriculture Ministry’s “Olive Project” initiative said.

“Olive oil production in our country is in a good place and the production of this product has increased from 3,300 tons in [the Iranian calendar year] 1391 (ended in March 2013) to 11,600 tons in 1398,” ILNA quoted Rahmatolah Parichehr as saying.

Speaking in a meeting with the company owners and businessmen active in the industry, the official stated that in the year of "surge in production", the quantitative and qualitative increase of olive oil production and also the increase of its per capita consumption is on Agriculture Ministry’s agenda.

“The per capita consumption of this product in the world is 500 grams and we have planned to reach the global average,” Parichehr said.

The official had previously said that demand for olive oil in Iran exceeds 12,000 tons per year and the shortage is mainly imported from Turkey, Italy, Spain and Greece.

The Agriculture Ministry’s olive project scheme titled the “National Plan for Development of Olive Cultivation and Processing” seeks to increase olive oil production in Iran to a level where the country would have no further needs for import.

EF/MA