Tunisia, one of the world’s major olive oil producers, is seeking to brand its olive oil on world markets by improving the packaging, design and quality of the product. For too long Tunisian olive oil has been marketed and sold in bulk, often ‘cut’ with Italian or Spanish olive oil, thus suffering from a lack of visibility.
A German cooperation projects organized and sponsored by the German cooperation Agency GTZ, Packtec and the Tunisian- German Chamber of commerce aims at promoting exports of biological olive oil to Germany, as well as branding the product on the German market, at a time when it is witnessing a great popularity.
The project involved the recent holding of a workshop led by the world’s leading olive oil taster, the Italian Gino Celletti. The workshop which was held on the grounds of an olive grove owned by Cecilia Muriel an olive oil producer in Djebel Ressas near Mornag, gathered olive oil producers from the region, restaurant owners, professionals in the sector and journalists.
Tunisia which is the first producer in the world of biological olive oil, “has a good chance of conquering the German market thanks to its subtle, mellow and slightly flavoured olive oil, which is in line with the German taste”, said the specialised journalist Kersten Wetenkamp who also admired the “attractive combination between packaging , quality and price.”
Cecilia Muriel herself is a good example of how a dedicated producer, can achieve excellence and success. After painstakingly planting 4000 olive trees on her 11 hectare olive grove at the foot of the Mount Djebel Ressas, she started reaping the benefits of her labor.
Her olive oil, Medolea which is encountering great success in Germany, was recently selected among the 200 best olive oils in the world during an international competition organised by the magazine Der Feinschmecker.
Talking about new life as a farmer and olive oil producer, Cecilia Muriel evokes the majesty of her olive trees in lyrical words “they exhale poetry and serenity. My new life is shaped by their cycle”, she says.
