**4. Olive harvesting and collecting**

Olive collection in Albania starts at the beginning of October and goes on until February. The harvesting is mostly done manually, and no modern equipment is used. During harvesting no selection between olives is done. Farmers use combined harvesting of olives that fall from the wind or as the effect of diseases and olives that are taken from the trees. This way of harvesting has a big influence on the manufactured oil quality.

The Albanian distribution system is traditional and extremely fragmented, without a real wholesaling sector. Especially for olive oil, distribution to retailers is mainly performed by the bottlers themselves. Wholesalers play a more important role in distributing table olives. More in general, food processing companies are distributing directly to retail outlets bypassing or relaying less on wholesalers. Two major changes occurred in the last three years, which will induce major changes in the distribution system. The establishment of a network of wholesale markets, facilitating wholesale trading and gradually introducing more transparency in price formation and on the other hand the development of organized distribution, with the entrance of two foreign-owned supermarket chains and the parallel growth of some domestic larger retailers into supermarket chains.

Based on the statistical data the proportion of the olives according to their age result as follows: Olive plantations above 100 years old (30% of the total olive trees), Olive plantations from 30-40 years old (45%) and Olive plantations from 10-20 years old (25%).

One of the most important factors affecting productivity of the olive tree is its cultivar. Albania is rich with more than 28 varieties grown throughout the country. The nine most cultivated are listed in Table 3. With the exception of the Frantoio variety introduced from Italy, the other eight most commonly grown varieties are native to Albania. The two leaders are "Kalinjot", which covers about 40% of the total plantations for oil and table use; and "Kokermadh i Beratit", representing approximately 21% of table olives. The interaction of the Albanian varieties with the local environment (soil, climate, altitude) and cultural practices results in the special characteristics and tastes distinctive to the oils produced in

**Trees Surface(Ha)**

Kokërrmadh i Beratit 1,000,000 7,700 18 Table Frantoio 470,000 2,600 19 Oil Kokërrmadh Elbasani 450,000 4,000 20 Table & Oil Mixan 430,000 3,770 25 Oil

Ulli i Bardhë Tiranes 200,000 1,500 28 Oil

Ulli i Hollë I Himares 70,000 800 15 Oil

Table 3. Olive cultivars in Albania (Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer

This way of harvesting has a big influence on the manufactured oil quality.

growth of some domestic larger retailers into supermarket chains.

Nisiot 120,000 900 12 Oil

Olive collection in Albania starts at the beginning of October and goes on until February. The harvesting is mostly done manually, and no modern equipment is used. During harvesting no selection between olives is done. Farmers use combined harvesting of olives that fall from the wind or as the effect of diseases and olives that are taken from the trees.

The Albanian distribution system is traditional and extremely fragmented, without a real wholesaling sector. Especially for olive oil, distribution to retailers is mainly performed by the bottlers themselves. Wholesalers play a more important role in distributing table olives. More in general, food processing companies are distributing directly to retail outlets bypassing or relaying less on wholesalers. Two major changes occurred in the last three years, which will induce major changes in the distribution system. The establishment of a network of wholesale markets, facilitating wholesale trading and gradually introducing more transparency in price formation and on the other hand the development of organized distribution, with the entrance of two foreign-owned supermarket chains and the parallel

Kalinjot 2,335,000 17,700 27 Table & Oil

**Maximum Oil Yield (% of weight)**

**Main Use** 

various regions of throughout Albania.

**4. Olive harvesting and collecting** 

Protection, 2009)

**Varieties Number of** 

More organized logistics are necessary to cope with such evolution. Total mark up in the post-production section of the food chain is also likely to increase, as prices are already high. This is likely to put more pressure on producers to reduce sales prices. For olive oil and table olives, such evolution is likely to induce the following changes:


Most urban dwellers buy olive oil in mini-markets and traditional retail outlets whereas imported olive oil is almost exclusively sold through supermarkets. Organized distribution is catching an increasing share of customers. These outlets do not represent any more the higher end of retailing business. Supermarkets are adjusting their prices to those ones of traditional retailers, aiming at widening the range of customers beyond the middle income consumers' segment. Restaurants and other catering outlets are buying, with few exceptions, the cheapest qualities of olive oil. Limited purchasing of higher quality olive oil is made by high-end restaurants. Apart from self-consumption, olive oil in rural areas is mostly informally traded and purchased from local oil mills. A smaller share, estimated in 30% of the total or less, is sold usually by the liter (i.e. not bottled), in traditional retail outlets. Retail shops and green markets are the prevalent market channels in rural areas where there is no olive oil production.

Until the end of the 1970s the olive oil processing was done in traditional primitive ways by the peasants themselves. Gradually with the increases in yield, some plants were built. These were very old technology fashioned plants. Only at the beginning of the 1980s some presses were imported from Italy, and this was the start of innovations in the oil manufacturing plants. Actually almost half of olive oil existing processing plants use the "Pieralisi" type presses for the olive oil production (Figure 3). Second popular kind of press is Alfa Laval with 15% and the next significant types are Eno Rossi (11%) and Mix (5 %). The situation shows that the processing olive oil technology is dominated by three phase decanters.
