Tunisia: Olive Oil-Technological Innovation – Digital Processing Systems Could Increase Sector’s Profitability
Tunis/Tunisia — More efficient digital processing systems at the mill level could improve the income of Tunisian olive oil producers and help make more responsible use of resources, speakers at a webinar organised Friday by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) suggested.
“Tunisia is in a position to increase the quantity and quality of the oil produced and to reuse by-products that were not previously used,” they said during the online meeting, which was organised to present the latest approaches to technological and product innovations in the olive sector, a strategic sector for the Tunisian economy.
As an innovative technique, the participants mentioned the ultrasonic treatment, a process used in extraction and which allows cavitation and the production of micro-currents in liquids, allowing a significant increase in yields and oil quality. Also, the latest high vacuum technologies, still in the testing phase, offer advantages in terms of extraction efficiency and quality.
Speaking at the event, Houda Ben Alaya of the Ministry of Agriculture’s General Directorate of Agricultural Production (DGPA), in charge of the olive sector, said: “It is important to focus on and raise awareness of production practices that reduce environmental impacts and increase the sustainability of olive groves.
Olive oil production in Tunisia has already undergone significant changes over the past 20 years, in terms of cultivation practices, processing and packaging with the introduction of technological innovations.
Tunisian oil mills have been considerably modernised and automated processing facilities now account for two-thirds of the country’s crushing capacity.
Digital technologies could further help, according to stakeholders, to better control production variables such as water, temperature and oxygen – which is increasingly used in advanced olive processing.