The future of olive growing and olive oil: key opportunities and challenges 57 suitable climatic conditions. Traditional producing countries are expected to follow the path already embarked upon in Portugal and Spain, which involves converting traditional olive groves into modern irrigated ones, wherever conditions allow, in order to increase production and reduce costs. 3. Consumption trends Global olive oil consumption has risen steadily over recent decades, driven primarily by the growing popularity of the Mediterranean diet, the spread of Mediterranean cuisine worldwide, and by the growing awareness of its health benefits. rising from 1.9% to 5%; and Egypt, which, starting from a very low level of production, grew at an average annual rate of 60.5%, rising from 22nd to 10th place in the ranking of the largest producers. Both Portugal and Egypt now have a significant proportion of their olive groves cultivated using modern irrigation systems, a factor which has fuelled the growth observed. The global olive-growing landscape has been expanding into other regions. Over the last 16 years, the number of producing countries has risen from 46 to 66. Countries such as Australia, the USA, Chile and Argentina, amongst others, have invested in the establishment of modern irrigated olive groves, emerging as producers of high-quality olive oil with low production costs. Many of these new producing countries have a significant strategic advantage: as they are located in the southern hemisphere, they are able to supply the market with fresh olive oils between April and July, a period when European stocks are at their lowest. …the future development of global olive oil production will be shaped by two main trends, which are already becoming apparent: the geographical expansion of production and the modernisation of production systems. However, as with global production, the growth in olive oil consumption has also turned out to be considerably more subdued over the last 15 years. Global consumption rose from 2.8 million tonnes in the 2007– 2010 four-year period to just over 3 million tonnes in the Thus, the future development of global olive oil production will be shaped by two main trends, which are already becoming apparent: the geographical expansion of production and the modernisation of production systems. Olive oil production will continue to expand into new regions beyond the traditional Mediterranean basin, driven by climate change and the opportunities created by growing demand for olive oil in emerging markets. These new producing countries will invest in modern, technologically advanced production systems, notably freestanding olive groves, benefiting from increasingly favourable agroclimatic conditions and greater availability of land and water. Although these new regions still account for only a limited share of the global total, they show potential for growth and may gain in importance in the future as they consolidate their technical expertise, adapt varieties and benefit from more 2022–2025 period, representing an average annual growth rate of just 0.3%. It should be noted that the final four-year period includes the years 2022 and 2023, during which global consumption fell very significantly due to the historic price rise caused by the prolonged drought in Spain. Table 2 shows the trend in olive oil consumption in the 10 leading consumer countries, which account for 69 per cent of global consumption. The three largest consumers of olive oil in the world are Italy, Spain and the USA, which account for around 43 per cent of global consumption. The other consuming countries (apart from the top 10) account for 31 per cent of consumption, which demonstrates the wide geographical spread of consumption of this product (198 countries). It should also be noted that the USA, France, Brazil and Germany are among the 10 largest consumers,
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