{"id":762529,"date":"2026-06-26T23:07:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762529\/"},"modified":"2026-06-26T23:07:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-26T23:07:21","slug":"olive-growers-excited-as-consumer-demand-rises-industry-looks-to-expand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/762529\/","title":{"rendered":"Olive growers excited as consumer demand rises, industry looks to expand"},"content":{"rendered":"

Third-generation olive producer Leon Bettio says the industry has never looked in better shape.<\/p>\n

The 44-year-old, who manages his family’s expanded grove along South Australia’s lower River Murray at Mypolonga said consumer demand for olive oil had reached new heights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It comes at the same time that wine grape growers have reached a crisis point, with farmers being encouraged to consider olives as a potential diversification or transitional option.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Bettio said the demand for olive oil and increased interest in olive production had made it an exciting time to be growing the small fruit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Rows<\/p>\n

Recent rain has helped with this year’s olive harvest at Rio Vista’s grove in Mypolonga. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)<\/p>\n

“I’ve never seen such buzz and enthusiasm within the industry,” Mr Bettio said.<\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of grape growers asking, ‘How do I diversify?'”Production boom possible<\/p>\n

Australia produces about half of the olive oil it consumes, while the other half is imported mostly from Mediterranean markets like Spain, Greece and Italy.<\/p>\n

The Australian Olive Association said the reliance on imported products had been highlighted during the global shortage of olive oil in 2022<\/a>, when prices rose by more than 70 per cent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Prices a few years ago were pushed up when we had a drought in the northern hemisphere,” chief executive Michael Southan said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Michael Southan says growers he has spoken to are feeling buoyed by this season’s harvest. (ABC Central West: Xanthe Gregory)<\/p>\n

“When supply came back to normal, prices went down, but they didn’t go back to the level they were.”<\/p>\n

Michael Esposito, who manages his family’s business on Kangaroo Island, also provides harvesting services for other growers across South Australia.<\/p>\n

He said many olive growers still relied on outside help to get their fruit off the tree and onto supermarket shelves.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Michael Esposito says the growing popularity of the “Mediterranean diet” is driving demand for extra virgin olive oil. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)<\/p>\n

“Australia consumes approximately 40 million litres of extra virgin olive oil,” Mr Esposito said.<\/p>\n

“There is a net deficit which we import to satisfy the current demand, which is growing.”<\/p>\n

While yields are up this harvest, after years of drought, some olive growers have reported decreased oil production and will utilise supply from last season.<\/p>\n

But Mr Southan said strong prices and continuing domestic demand meant the industry was well positioned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said it could expand but access to water remained the clinch point.<\/p>\n

“If you have water for irrigation, olives are a very, very good option,” Mr Southan said.<\/p>\n

\"Olives<\/p>\n

Olives are processed all day during harvest at Rio Vista’s mill in Mypolonga. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)<\/p>\n

\u00a0“We have tremendous potential to absorb a lot more locally produced product.<\/p>\n

“If you have a good quality product, the consumers will buy and they’ll buy at a price that keeps you sustainable.”Oil like a fine wine \u00a0<\/p>\n

Mr Bettio said quality was always something his family had prioritised over quantity, referencing his Italian roots and the famous olive groves in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

He said, fortunately, there had been a change in consumer perceptions of olive oil, meaning it was no longer viewed as just a kitchen staple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Leon Bettio keeps a close eye on production. (ABC Riverland: Jackson Byrne)<\/p>\n

“Before, it was literally just something to cook in but now people know what a good extra virgin olive oil can taste like,” he said.<\/p>\n

“We’re pursuing different flavours \u2026 that no-one thought could be in an olive oil.<\/p>\n

“People can nerd out on any kind of good, well-done ingredient or food.”<\/p>\n

Despite feeling optimistic about the future of the industry, Mr Esposito said growing olives was like playing the long game.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

This season’s olive harvest has been stronger than many thought it would be. (ABC News: Daniel Taylor)<\/p>\n

“You plant a vineyard for your children and an olive grove for your grandchildren,” he said.<\/p>\n

“From a financial point of view, it’s a 10-year return rather than a two or three-year return.”<\/p>\n

More news from regional SA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Third-generation olive producer Leon Bettio says the industry has never looked in better shape. The 44-year-old, who manages…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":762530,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[154158,64,63,363805,99,363807,363808,158595,363803,363804,363802,4884,23699,47894,363806,118994,81607,7033,253714],"class_list":["post-762529","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-adelaide-hills","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-olive-association","tag-business","tag-diversify","tag-extra-virgin","tag-family-business","tag-leon-bettio","tag-michael-esposito","tag-mypolonga","tag-olive-oil","tag-olives","tag-quality","tag-rio-vista","tag-river-murray","tag-transition","tag-virgin","tag-wine-grape"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762529","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=762529"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/762529\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/762530"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=762529"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=762529"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=762529"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}