PRODUCERS OF olive oil in the Algarve could soon be helped to market their products within the region instead of exporting it to Spain where it is mixed and labelled as Spanish oil before being imported back into Portugal.
“Our olive oil is sent to Spain, mixed with Spanish olive oil that is bitter and even sold back in Portugal,” said Renato Rocha, an olive oil producer in Tavira.
The Direcção Regional de Agricultura e Pescas do Algarve (DRAPAlg), the regional directorate of agriculture and fisheries, has said that it is prepared to create incentives for local olive oil producers to create their own separate Algarvian brands.
“Our institution, with the Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), the document that defines the national strategy to spend European funds, is prepared to help create packaging to commercialise Algarvian olive oil,” said Castelão Rodrigues, director of DRAPAlg.
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