Mediterranean olive cultivation and foreign trade of olive oil, 1947-2009

Abstract

Analysis of the foreign trade between the principal olive oil producing and consuming countries during the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century illustrates the consolidation of Italy as the country of reference in international trade and the secondary role of Spain as the storehouse for Italy. This structure of trade, initiated in the first decades of the 20th century and strengthened during the long years of Franco’s dictatorship, has persisted as production and trade have increased in recent decades. Today, with Spain integrated in the European Union and global capital markets, Spanish interests would benefit from a change in
this relationship.