International Olive Council (IOC), the Spain-based intergovernmental organisation of olive producing countries promoting olive products worldwide, has chalked out plans to convert India as a leading olive oil consumer in the years to come.
IOC will launch olive promotional campaigns in the country during the next three years , said VN Dalmia,president, Indian Olive Association , who is also the chairman, Dalmia Continental Private Ltd (DCPL). IOC has earmarked 4,00,000 euro to undertake campaign in the first year. ?This is the first time IOC is launching promotional campaigns in underdeveloped countries,? Dalmia said.
The main agenda of the IOC is to bring down the import duty from the current 50% to 25% while urging the Union government for amendments to food law to align the standards of olive oil with the international standards, which will result in increase of consumption in India. If the government reduces the import duty, it is expected to bring down the olive oil prices by 15-20% from the current level of around Rs 500 per litre, industry sources said. Currently, India imports around 2,300 tonne of olive oil, of which 1,400 tonne of oil is used for edible purpose and the rest as raw material for industrial usage, primarily in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics segment. However, IOC will be to expand the market from the current 2,300 tonne to 40,000 tonne in the next five years, Dalmia added.
India is completely banking on import route for its olive requirement, as the country has no olive cultivation locally except in a few pockets in Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. For the first time, Rajasthan government has tied up with an Israeli firm Indolive Ltd and Indian company Plastro Plasson Industries to promote olive farming on 210 hectare. in the state this year.