Vegetable Oil
Agricultural scientists believe that the long-lived olive tree originated in Syria, where more than 70 million trees thrive today. Syria, often called "The Cradle of Olive Oil" has become a major exporter of high quality and inexpensive vegetable oils, such as olive, cottonseed, corn, palm, and sunflower oils. Syria annually plants about three million new olive trees, and is fortunate to have vast quantities of fertile soil, abundant water supplies, the right climate, and the support of the government to develop and expand agrarian efforts and the exportation of agricultural products. The Arab Organization for Agricultural Development researched and developed projects allowing Syria to increase production of vegetable oils by focusing on better utilizing natural resources and expanding economic development in the form of better banking practices and investments. Agricultural biotechnology has markedly increased, improving crop yield, thanks to the General Authority for Agricultural Research in the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform.
The result of these recent reforms and advances has allowed Syria to become a formidable contender in the world vegetable oil venue. The Olive Oil Exporters' Association of Spain (Asoliva) states "Olive oil is three or four times more expensive than other oils such as sunflower oil. Now, cheaper brands are coming into the market, as countries like Syria expand their production of olive oil. Many Lebanese olive oil producers have scaled down production of high-grade olive oil as a result of Syrian imports." Syria currently is the fifth largest olive oil producing country in the world.
