DAMASCUS, 24 March (BelTA – SANA) – Syria has more than 101 million olive trees, of which approximately 90 million are fruitful.
Olive
trees are the third most cultivated crop in Syria and contribute
approximately 3% of the country’s national income and 9.5% of
agricultural income, as well as providing jobs for approximately 300,000
Syrian families.
The area planted with olive trees in Syria is
estimated at 674,000 hectares, which constitutes 12 percent of the total
cultivated area.
“Olive oil production during the 2024 season
amounted to 122,000 tons, and local consumption reached 100,000 tons,
which means there is a surplus for export of approximately 22,000 tons,”
Abeer Jawhar, director of the Olive Office of the Ministry of
Agriculture, told SANA.
She explained that the final olive
production for the aforementioned season amounted to approximately
761,764 tons, of which 20 percent was used for consumption and 80
percent for oil extraction.
There are 35 olive oil filtration and
packaging companies in Syria that produce containers of various sizes
and types, in compliance with Syrian and international standards. These
companies export to numerous Arab and foreign countries, such as Saudi
Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, permanent and essential
markets for this purpose.
Regarding the importance of Syria’s
return to the International Olive Council, Jawhar considered that
working with international organizations interested in the olive oil
sector is one of the most important factors in developing this sector
and transforming it into an economic sector that attracts investment.
It
is worth noting that Syria joined the International Olive Council in
1998 in accordance with the United Nations International Olive Oil
Agreement and had greatly benefited from the support it provided to
member states.
Follow us on:
