Olive presser urges caution in promoting Maltese olive oil

The harvest of Maltese olives has been very poor this year and Sam Cremona, of Wardija, who has been the driving force behind the ongoing revival of the Maltese olive oil industry, said he had pressed only a third of the quantity he had pressed last year.

Last year Mr Cremona pressed 220 tons of olives, most of which were gathered by individuals. This year he has pressed only 75 tons so far and the prospects of pressing more are slim.

"Two years ago, when practically no one knew they could have their olives pressed, I pressed 60 tons. This year the harvest has been very poor, particularly in the north, and many trees did not produce any olives," he said.

Mr Cremona attributed this dearth to the dry spring and autumn.

"In autumn, we had a lot of rain early in September, when it flooded and the trees bloomed, but then the ground became parched and most of the olives shed their fruit," Mr Cremona said.

Trees in the south fared a bit better, while trees in cultivated orchards that were well irrigated yielded a good crop.

"Old Maltese olive trees situated in places where there is underground water also produced a good harvest," Mr Cremona said.

Mr Cremona said that with the help of the Agriculture Department, he hoped to set up nurseries with two olive tree varieties that are documented to have existed in Malta for a very long time.

"There are at least 10 olive varities in Malta, some of them dating back at least 1,600 years. I have taken cuttings from the Bidnija and Lija Maltese olive trees to the Agronomic Institute in Bari, where they were grafted and the first trees are now in Malta.

"Now we have 260 trees ready to be planted. These will form the basis of the nurseries that will enable us to register the Maltese varieties that in turn would lead to a certification of the Maltese olive oil and any products that are derived from Maltese olive trees."

Mr Cremona said that following clearance by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority and the Agriculture department, cuttings were taken in February and DNA records are being kept. A register of where the trees will be planted would also be kept.

Mr Cremona said the different varieties of olive trees that were present enabled one to blend different tasting olive oil that appealed to different palates. The taste of olive oil from olives that grow in Malta ranges from sweetish to bitter, and blends can achieve a number of varieties.

"We have to go about it in a proper systematic manner. The olive oil industry can be revived, but it cannot be done overnight. The government needs to ensure that what is being sold as Maltese olive oil is really oil from trees growing here, as if people from abroad buy what they think is Maltese oil only to find out it was pressed from imported Italian olives, we will be killing the industry before it even emerges," Mr Cremona said.

Olive trees give more than just olives. The pulp that remains from crushed olives can be sun dried and used as fuel in fireplaces.

"I use it in my fireplace and it is a very slow burning fuel that is very economical and if we have a proper industry we can market it. It is definitely cheaper than kerosene, especially now that this costs as much as diesel.

"One can also make a range of olive pastes, such as dips or ready made sauces for pasta and meat. We have the ingredients at out fingertips: garlic, almonds, fennel, capers. They can be blended with olives and will sell hugely.

"This is not to speak of the excellent Maltese olive oil. I hardly ever sell locally anymore and I am unlikely to do so this year anyway because of the poor harvest. But there is already demand which we are unable to meet out there. If you get one big chain of supermarkets taking our olive oil, we do not have enough oil for them.

"That is why it is important for the government to fall like a ton of bricks on unscrupulous people who might be tempted to make a fast profit and brand as Maltese oil which is not at all Maltese, as we can forget about trying to revive the industry if we do that," Mr Cremona said.

"I believe the secret lies in not biting off more than we can chew," he added.