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News
27/11/2007
Financial Times REPORT - CYPRUS 2007: Peppery olive oil tempts international taste buds
By Kerin Hope, Financial Times
Standing among stainless steel tanks and wooden barrels, Petros Maliotis pours a golden yellow liquid into a brandy glass, warms it between his hands and savours the aroma.
The setting could be one of the boutique wineries that have proliferated in Cyprus. In fact Mr Maliotis is showing a visitor how to taste high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
The oil slips down the throat with a hint of fruitiness and a peppery kick recalling the best-known Greek brands.
Made from small black "koroneiki" olives, which are native to southern Greece but grown on the foothills of Mount Troodos in southern Cyprus, Mr Maliotis's oil has won prizes at several international competitions.
Pointing to a framed certificate on the wall, he says: "We had to put our products into competition to build credibility in export markets. Who had ever heard of Cypriot olive oil?"
Cyprus produces only 7,000 tonnes of olive oil yearly from both a native variety and the "koroneiki" - about the same amount as the Sitia region in east Crete. This compares with more than 200,000 tonnes yearly for the whole of Greece, one of the biggest European Union producers alongside Spain and Italy.
Cypriot output is set to increase significantly over the next decade as about 2m "koroneiki" trees, planted shortly before European Union accession to take advantage of agricultural subsidies, come into full production.
A horticulturalist who trained in the UK and the US, Mr Maliotis founded his company, Novel Agro, to produce olive oil and table olives that could compete with brands from leading Mediterranean regions - Tuscany, Andalucia, Sitia in Crete and Lakonia in southern Greece.
"The inspiration for the business came when I went to an olive oil tasting in Sicily. The quality was so spectacular I wanted to do the same thing here. Our ambition is to become a high-quality niche producer for a growing international market," he says.
In line with the Cypriot tradition of family businesses, Mr Maliotis obtained start-up capital from one uncle and mentoring from another, a successful food processor. His wife, a food scientist, worked for the company until recently.
Novel Agro produces 150 tonnes of oil yearly, of which 20 tonnes is exported in bottles to Finland, Japan and the US.
Bottled oil is sold through local supermarkets and delicatessens, while a separate brand is packed in bigger containers for Cypriot restaurants and catering businesses.
Novel Agro works mainly with growers in the Troodos region where the volcanic soil gives the oil a distinctive taste.
"To ensure quality we encourage growers to deliver picked olives to the mill for pressing within 24 hours. We have someone at the mill to test the acidity level to ensure it meets the standard for extra virgin oil," Mr Maliotis says.
Oil is standardised and stored in small containers under controlled temperatures in a packing plant outside Nicosia.
Some is infused with herbs such as thyme, oregano or with garlic and lemon before bottling. "How you store olive oil is really important to maintaining quality. We keep only a month's supply in bottles," says Mr Maliotis.
Marketing and distribution is a challenge, given that about 90 per cent of Cypriot olive oil is still sold informally by village growers through a network of relatives and friends, without being standardised or professionally packed.
To build the brand, Mr Maliotis visits restaurants and catering establishments, organises tastings at five-star hotels and runs tasting classes for local consumers.
"After wine classes, which are really popular here, more people are ready to try an olive class," he says.
Established six years ago, Novel Agro achieved a modest profit on last year's turnover of €700,000. Mr Maliotis says the pace of expansion will depend on how fast the new olive trees come into production and whether Cypriot olive oil can acquire a EU certification of "designated origin of product" (DOP).
Cypriot chemists are testing properties that appear to differentiate the island's olive oil.
These include the qualities of the volcanic soil, and the presence of a higher level of anti-oxidants in oil from the native olive tree.
"Winning a DOP is a priority because it would give Cyprus a name to build on and really help with marketing," he says. "Having more anti-oxidants than other oils would really give us an edge with health-conscious buyers."
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