Iraq becomes full member of International Olive Council

Shafaq News- Madrid

Iraq has become a full member of the Madrid-based International Olive Council (IOC), the intergovernmental body for the olive oil and table olive sector, after completing the legal and diplomatic requirements, the Agriculture Ministry said.

The Iraqi flag was raised at the council's headquarters during a ceremony organized by Iraq's embassy in Spain, attended by IOC Executive Director Jaime Lillo and representatives of member states and ambassadors.

Iraq served as an observer on the council for two years before full membership took effect on August 8, according to the IOC. It said that the country reported only 34 tonnes of olive oil and 340 tonnes of table olives for the 2023/24 crop year.

Though Iraq is not a major olive producer, membership will let it classify and register its products to international standards and build laboratory and tasting-panel capacity through the council's training and technical programs, the IOC said, offering newer growing regions a route to technical expertise.

In a recorded address, Agriculture Minister Abdul Rahim Jassim al-Shammari said the ministry is committed to developing the sector, diversifying seedling production, raising quality and preserving genetic diversity.

Last year, the ministry said its national fruit and olive propagation program achieved oil yields of up to 18% from varieties including Picual and Santa Caterina, after three years of collecting fruit from several regions and testing different presses. Yields had previously been below 10%.

Iraq’s Higher Committee for Construction and Investment previously approved plans for the country’s largest olive farm, in Wasit province, to be developed by an Iraqi-Spanish investment company. The project followed a visit to Spain in 2024 by then-Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, during which he met the head of the International Olive Council.