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| There are some 830 million olive trees in the
world, producing 1.5 million tons of oil and 700,000 tons of table
olives (green and black). Europe has about 650 million olive trees,
in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Tunisia
and Morocco. |
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| There are currently 25,000 olive growers in
France. The groves are spread over 1,400 different communes and cover
15,000 hectares. There are 140 mills, some of which are cooperative
and some private. The sector produces 3,000 tons of olive oil (3.5
% of France's total consumption) and has a total turnover of 3 billion
francs. In two decades, France's consumption of olive oil has increased
from 20,000 tons to 80,000 tons. |
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There are thirty species of olive tree and more
than 400 olive varieties and, as with fine wines, there are various
crus and appellations d'origine. There are currently 3 million olive
trees in France, compared with 26 million in 1840. The freeze of February
1956 destroyed 11 million trees. Frenzied urbanisation in the Midi,
along with vineyard expansion, are other reasons for the decline |
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