Chinese acquire a taste for olive oil

International olive oil producers are counting on China to increase their earning strength because the nation appears to have developed a taste for the healthy oil.

Because China's climate is not suitable for mass olive production and more Chinese are realizing olive oil is generally healthier than most cooking oils, imports have surged in recent years, especially in top-tier cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen, where 80 percent of olive oil shipped from Spain, Italy, Australia and Turkey is consumed. Jean-Louis Barjol, executive director of the Madrid-based International Olive Council, the world's only international intergovernmental organization in the field of olive oil and table olives, said because China's huge middle class is very conscious about food quality and health issues, the Mediterranean diet, which uses plenty of olive oil, is a practical way to maintain health.

"The numerous television advertisements released recently by Chinese olive oil importers and the campaigns led by export countries' trade-promotion bodies to explain the uses of olive oil have resulted in a significant increase in sales, as well as the opening of hypermarkets in the nation's main cities selling imported foods," Barjol said.