In recent years, public debate seems to have lost sight of the profound meaning of a definition we’ve been studying since elementary school: primary sector.
We call it this because agriculture is the activity that provides the primary good par excellence, food, and is the essential starting point for every agri-food industry.
Without the farmer who cares for the olive tree, the olive oil bottling industry and the global oil trade would not exist.
Il recent “boom” of Tunisian oil, which is now in the news for its production volumes, is not an accident nor a sudden invasion, it is the result of a strategy that has put production back at the centre.
Taking advantage of a favorable climatic year and a far-sighted agricultural policy, Tunisia has been able to cultivate its own olive groves and then accompany the product on international markets, also thanks to effective diplomatic and commercial activity.
The Tunisian government has applied a “classical economics” recipe, which seems almost “revolutionary” in the current landscape: allocating a quota of oil to the domestic market at a controlled price, recognizing that olive oil is not a luxury good, but a staple of the Tunisian diet and culture.
Likewise, Tunis has imposed a minimum price, the famous 10 dinars, on olive growers., so as to prevent large international groups from strangling small local farmers at the time of maximum supply.
Tunis has made the most of its agreements with the EU, transforming its olive growing into a driving force for the entire national economy.
In Italy, the picture is different and more stratified, It is undeniable that national olive growing is lagging behind in agronomic updates and suffers from a chronic lack of long-term planning and research.
However, we cannot ignore the adverse situation that Italian olive growing has faced in recent years, with climate change and phytosanitary emergencies, which require long periods of time for regeneration.
Producing in Italy, then, has social and regulatory costs that make competition on “low price” impossible.
Despite these burdens, the The Italian product is a world reference point for the refinement and high quality of its oils.
Italian olive oil isn’t just a condiment; it’s a premium product that the global market continues to demand, precisely because of its unique organoleptic characteristics and the great expertise in its production.
It is no coincidence that the largest oil processing industries are Italian.
The “reality” is therefore not in a defeat, but in a necessary awarenessWhile it is true that Tunisian volumes are growing, it is equally true that a silent reorganization is already underway in Italy.
There is a a new generation of olive growers and millers who want revenge, which invests in innovative technologies and focuses entirely on traceability and an unbreakable bond with the territory.
The challenge for Italy is not to produce “more than Tunisia,” but to return to honoring that “primary sector” with structural investments and a political vision that supports those who work the land.
Dining and Cooking