JAKARTA – The Review Report in Environmental Science and Biotechnology reports that trees olive the modern origin probably comes from ancient Persia and Mesopotamia. After that it spread to Syria and Israel in the basin Mediterranean where it was cultivated and then introduced to North Africa.

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Some researchers claim that olive cultivation originated in ancient Egypt. Olives have also been found in an Egyptian tomb dating back to 2000 BC. The Eastern Mediterranean (Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus and Syria) is where olive trees were first domesticated between 8,000 and 6,000 years ago.

Olive oil has many functions, from food to health. Its function is what makes olive oil still popular today.

Given the natural habitat of olive trees in a warm environment, not all countries can plant olive trees en masse. Indeed, this tree can now also grow in the tropics, but the question of productivity still awaits an answer.
Several countries have succeeded in developing the olive tree to make it the world’s leading producer of olive oil. There are many countries that produce olive oil, but at least only four occupy the main positions.

They are the largest olive oil producing countries in the world.
1. Spain
According to 2019 FAO data, Spain is the largest olive oil producing country in the world. The amount of olive oil production in Spain is due to geographical conditions in the form of soil and climate which strongly favor the growth of olive trees. The Matador State’s olive oil production reached 5.9 million tons, with an average growth of 5% over five years.

Andalusia is the region that supplies olive oil in Spain, around 75%. The next region is Castilla-La Mancha which is the second largest contributor. Part of the Spanish olive oil production is exported to the UK, Australia, France and other countries.

2. Italy
Italian olive oil production is 2.19 million tons. The areas known for their olive groves are located in the south, precisely in Sicily, Puglia, Basilicata, Sardinia and Calabria.

These regions have a warm climate which is very suitable for the cultivation of olive trees. Some of Italy’s olive oil products are exported to a number of countries, including the United States, Brazil, China, and Canada. And some of them are eaten on their own because many Italian specialties use olive oil as the main ingredient.

3. Morocco
Moroccan olive oil production reaches 1.9 million tons. This North African country is included in the ranks of the largest olive oil producers in the world. Moroccan olive oil has attracted interest from the European Union and the United States, which are its main customers.