STORY: China to become "strategic market" for Spanish olive oil producers: industry insider
SHOOTING TIME: March 14, 2024
DATELINE: March 16, 2024
LENGTH: 0:01:10
LOCATION: BARCELONA, Spain
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of olive oil shop
2. various of olive oil production
3. various of olive oil producers
4. various of olive farming lands
5. SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JAIME LILLO, Executive director of the International Olive Council (IOC)
6. various of olive oil
7. SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): JAIME LILLO, Executive director of the International Olive Council (IOC)

STORYLINE:

Olive oil producers in Spain are looking to develop other markets abroad as demand in the European Union has dropped due to rising prices, and China will be one of strategic markets for them, a Spanish industry insider told Xinhua recently.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Spanish): JAIME LILLO, Executive director of the International Olive Council (IOC)
"Expanding markets in other countries is a trend we'll see more clearly in years with bigger harvests, when there'll be a real interest in finding new markets. And in this situation, I think we'll see again that China will be a strategic market for Spanish producers."

Lillo said that the rising demand for olive oil in China is mainly due to the rise in salaries and the diet change among the Chinese population.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Spanish): JAIME LILLO, Executive director of the International Olive Council (IOC)
"The demand has a lot to do with the rise in salaries among the Chinese population and the increasing number of people who are interested in eating more healthily and who can afford oil that is more expensive than alternative oils in this case."

Spanish olive oil production accounts for over 40 percent of the world production, according to its government data, while Spain also exports the most olive oil, at 65 percent of its total sales.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Barcelona, Spain.
(XHTV)