Some 925 Tons of Olives this Season in Syria

IDLEB, (ST)- Director of the Olives Bureau of the Ministry Agriculture, Dr. Muhannad Mallandi ,estimated that the production of olives in Syria to reach 925,000

tons during the current agricultural season.

In a statement ha made recently, Dr. Mallandi said that that the expected quantities declined from one million tons because the coastal region was affected by long season rain and then a sudden increase temperature took place in the flowering period. 

He called to regulate the oil and olives’ trade and sound all the problems inflicting the sector and the establishment of specialized associations in planting olive and the trend towards intelligent support of production equipment or support at the level of productivity and quality and the establishment of specialized workshops in pruning and grafting according to the technical and scientific principles. 

He also called for activating bio- combating programs and using remnants of pruning trees in the production of feed for livestock.

It is noteworthy that per capita consumption of olive oil in Syria annually ranges between 5 and 6 kilos which is low compared to other countries and therefore there is a surplus of oil annually ranges between 40 and 50 tons.

Syria ranks fourth globally and the first Arab country in production which is estimated more than one million tons. This quantity gives175 thousand tons of olive oil from a total area of 696,000 hectares, whereas the total number reaches to 106 million trees which has about 82 million fruitful trees.

Sharif al -Khatib