toggle menu
CIHEAM Zaragoza at the presentation of the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC)
CIHEAM > AGENDAS > CIHEAM Zaragoza at the presentation of the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC)
  • CIHEAM Zaragoza’s director, Raúl Compés, has attended the presentation of the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC) on 28 February at the headquarters of the International Olive Council (IOC) in Madrid.
CIHEAM Zaragoza director, Raúl Compés, with Jaime Lillo, executive director of the IOC, and Ricardo Miguelañez, general coordinador of the OOWC
Presentation of the OOWC at the headquarters of the International Olive Council in Madrid

The congress will be held on 26, 27 and 28 June 2024 in the auditorium of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) in Madrid. CIHEAM Zaragoza is one of the collaborators in this first edition of the congress that will gather operators from over 50 countries to discuss different challenges that the olive sector will be facing in forthcoming years: climate change, product quality and safety, water, sustainability, and marketing. The congress also provides a forum of exchange to analyse the health benefits of olive oil and explore potential market opportunities that health and nutrition related aspects can offer as drivers of consumer patterns in many countries today.

During his welcome speech, Jaime Lillo, Executive Director of the IOC highlighted the importance of this event for the olive oil sector worldwide. Lillo expressed his gratitude to His Majesty the King, Felipe VI, President of the Committee of Honour of the OOWC, and to Luis Planas, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, for their support.

Antonio Rodríguez de Liévana Sahagún, Deputy Director General of International Relations and Community Affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), also participated in the opening event and spoke of the importance of the olive oil sector for Spain, stretching beyond the food industry and contributing to job creation, wealth, landscape conservation, health, and culture.

Ricardo Migueláñez, General Coordinator of the OOWC presented the congress’s innovative features: “the initiative originates in Spain, the largest olive oil producer in the world, but the congress has an international scope and other countries will be able to host future editions every two years”. He went on to say “Furthermore, one of the objectives of the OOWC is to become a platform that is active not only for each congress, but to organise promotion and knowledge-sharing activities all year round, focusing on olive growing and olive oil production worldwide and involving operators from both the production and the consumption sectors of the value chain”.

The OOWC will serve to valorise olive oil and convey its benefits to society. It is also a an opportunity to bring together professionals from all over the world and boost the transfer of knowledge about this product by creating a global network to exchange experiences and develop new R&D+i projects with the collaboration of experts across continents.

As one of the main collaborators, CIHEAM Zaragoza has been involved in the congress from the start, providing support in communication and dissemination work and participating in the Scientific Committee. In the run-up to the congress, coordination with the other participating entities, in particular with the International Olive Council, will be essential.