Timbercorp Limited has announced on its website that 'unless the company is able to reach agreement with its financiers to restructure existing debt facilities, or an alternative funding or restructure plan is implemented before 1 May 2009, there is significant uncertainty regarding the ability of the Company to continue as a going concern'.
Timbercorp owns the largest olive groves in Australia and claims to produce around 40% of Australian production of olive oil. Boundary Bend Ltd, owner of the Cobram Estate brand of olive oil, is Timbercorp's 'strategic alliance partner' for its olive projects.
In its 2008 annual report Timbercorp recorded 6,530 hectares of olives under management which produced almost 4.6 million litres of extra virgin olive oil. An oil yield of 15.41%. Oil prices achieved were between $4.53 and $4.71 per litre ($4.92-$5.12/kg). With the 2009 harvest under way, the predicted harvest is 5.5 million litres, almost 20% up on 2008.
The statement cites the cause of the credit squeeze as the unsatisfactory offers for its timber plantations which it is attempting to sell to retire debt. As far as its horticultural assets are concerned, it states that expressions of interest have been received but no formal offer has been made to date. It does not state whether the olive assets are the subject of an expression of interest.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Edible Oil Prices on The Rise
The world financial situation is affecting the supply of edible oils, such as soya bean oil and palm oil, as producers apply less fertiliser and development stalls.
Analysts predict the increased consumption of fried foods in Asian countries and continuing demand for palm oil for electricity generation will mean a supply shortage in the coming year. This may increase the demand and price for other vegetable oils such as canola and sunflower oil.
This could be good news for olive oil producers which produce around 4% of the world's edible oils. Olive oil is usually around double the price of oils such as canola and sales should benefit if the price differential is reduced.
Seen as a healthier vegetable oil than competing oils, consumers may respond to the closing of prices by electing to buy the healthier product for slightly more.
Analysts predict the increased consumption of fried foods in Asian countries and continuing demand for palm oil for electricity generation will mean a supply shortage in the coming year. This may increase the demand and price for other vegetable oils such as canola and sunflower oil.
This could be good news for olive oil producers which produce around 4% of the world's edible oils. Olive oil is usually around double the price of oils such as canola and sales should benefit if the price differential is reduced.
Seen as a healthier vegetable oil than competing oils, consumers may respond to the closing of prices by electing to buy the healthier product for slightly more.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
House Brands Set to Grow
The tightening of household budgets is leading to an increase in purchases of more economical house brands in supermarkets, at the expense of producer brands.
This has led some supermarkets to review their private labels with a view to expansion and possible rebranding.
The impact of this move on the Australian olive industry could be downward pressure on producer brand prices and consequently lower producer prices for olive oil. Producer margins for the supply of olive oil through a tender process for household brands are generally lower than returns from sales of branded products.
This has led some supermarkets to review their private labels with a view to expansion and possible rebranding.
The impact of this move on the Australian olive industry could be downward pressure on producer brand prices and consequently lower producer prices for olive oil. Producer margins for the supply of olive oil through a tender process for household brands are generally lower than returns from sales of branded products.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Internet Interest in Olive Oil
Worldwide searches
Analysing the search terms used through search engines has become an important tool in gauging the interest in in products and the effect of media campaigns.
Google analytics have tracked the interest in various search permutations of olive oil since 2004 with interesting results. The interest is measured on a scale of 0-100. The worldwide search for 'olive oil' remained flat around the 80 mark until mid-2008 and since then has climbed steadily to around 95.
The searches are also divided into categories; for olive oil the most important categories are Food and Drink (50-75%), Health (10-25%) and Beauty and Personal Care (10-25%). The percentage indicates the perceptions of uses according to the searchers. With the emphasis on the health aspects of olive oil, it is surprising that this category does not rate higher.
The search for 'extra virgin olive oil' followed the same pattern with a score of 60 from 2004 with a steady rise from early 2008 to the current 90. Significantly, the Health category only recorded 0-10% interest, less than for olive oil. This could be interpreted as the consumer not getting the message about the health attributes of extra virgin olive oil.
The analysis of the regional interest shown in extra virgin over the last 5 years has Singapore top with a score of 100, USA second with 98 and Australia third with 74. New Zealand ranks number 8 with a score of 54.
Australian and New Zealand Searches
In Australia, the search for 'extra virgin olive oil' showed a steady decline from when it first registered with adequate traffic in late 2004 with a score of 80. The steady decline continued to late 2007 when it hit a low of just above 20. During 2008, traffic increased with a spike reaching 100 at the time of the publicity surrounding supermarket olive oils in October. Since then interest has abated to just above 60, 20 below the 2004 level.
Analysis of the searches by State shows the highest interest is in Victoria with a rating of 100, then New South Wales at 80 and Queensland with 57. The other States did not rate - probably a reflection of their smaller populations.
New Zealanders don't search enough for 'extra virgin olive oil' to register a score. 'Olive oil' does register and, following wild fluctuations in 2004 and 2005, has settled to a steady 50. There is a spike to 70 in early 2009, probably related to coverage given to the judging of the 2008 Olives NZ olive oil competition. The main interest comes from Wellington with a score of 100, then Auckland 95, Taranaki 86 and Canterbury 81.
The internet search analytics are a useful tool to gauge the impact of promotions and industry publicity - both positive and negative. Having lifted the interest back to 2004 levels, the challenge for the Australian industry is to commit the resources to sustain the renewed interest. For New Zealand, the challenge is to generate more traffic searching for olive oil.
Simon Field
Olive Business
Analysing the search terms used through search engines has become an important tool in gauging the interest in in products and the effect of media campaigns.
Google analytics have tracked the interest in various search permutations of olive oil since 2004 with interesting results. The interest is measured on a scale of 0-100. The worldwide search for 'olive oil' remained flat around the 80 mark until mid-2008 and since then has climbed steadily to around 95.
The searches are also divided into categories; for olive oil the most important categories are Food and Drink (50-75%), Health (10-25%) and Beauty and Personal Care (10-25%). The percentage indicates the perceptions of uses according to the searchers. With the emphasis on the health aspects of olive oil, it is surprising that this category does not rate higher.
The search for 'extra virgin olive oil' followed the same pattern with a score of 60 from 2004 with a steady rise from early 2008 to the current 90. Significantly, the Health category only recorded 0-10% interest, less than for olive oil. This could be interpreted as the consumer not getting the message about the health attributes of extra virgin olive oil.
The analysis of the regional interest shown in extra virgin over the last 5 years has Singapore top with a score of 100, USA second with 98 and Australia third with 74. New Zealand ranks number 8 with a score of 54.
Australian and New Zealand Searches
In Australia, the search for 'extra virgin olive oil' showed a steady decline from when it first registered with adequate traffic in late 2004 with a score of 80. The steady decline continued to late 2007 when it hit a low of just above 20. During 2008, traffic increased with a spike reaching 100 at the time of the publicity surrounding supermarket olive oils in October. Since then interest has abated to just above 60, 20 below the 2004 level.
Analysis of the searches by State shows the highest interest is in Victoria with a rating of 100, then New South Wales at 80 and Queensland with 57. The other States did not rate - probably a reflection of their smaller populations.
New Zealanders don't search enough for 'extra virgin olive oil' to register a score. 'Olive oil' does register and, following wild fluctuations in 2004 and 2005, has settled to a steady 50. There is a spike to 70 in early 2009, probably related to coverage given to the judging of the 2008 Olives NZ olive oil competition. The main interest comes from Wellington with a score of 100, then Auckland 95, Taranaki 86 and Canterbury 81.
The internet search analytics are a useful tool to gauge the impact of promotions and industry publicity - both positive and negative. Having lifted the interest back to 2004 levels, the challenge for the Australian industry is to commit the resources to sustain the renewed interest. For New Zealand, the challenge is to generate more traffic searching for olive oil.
Simon Field
Olive Business
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Import Prices Continue to Rise
The price (customs value) of imports of virgin olive oil into Australia continued to rise during February. The average price of packaged virgin olive oil was $6.21/litre, up 7% on January 2009 and 23% on November 2008.
The average bulk virgin olive oil decreased from the January figure to $5.04/litre, down 20%, and down 6% on the November 2008 figure. After three years of steady decline from a high of around 4 Euros/kg in January 2005, the price of extra virgin olive oil has started to even out around 2 Euros/kg, or approximately $4.40/litre.
The increase in the import price and the reduction in value of the Australian dollar relative to that of importing countries in Europe and the US should favour an increase in sales of local product in Australia and an increase in exports. However, this positive outlook may be dampened by the general reduction in retail spending and a switch to cheaper cooking oils.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Imported olive oil prices take a hike
Prices of virgin olive oil imported into Australia continue their upward trend according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
The imported price of packaged virgin olive oil reached $5.78/litre, an increase of $1.24/ litre over December and 13% above previous the highest price this financial year in August. The price of bulk virgin olive oil followed the trend and remained higher than packaged olive oil.
The price hike is probably caused by a number of factors, including the lower Australian $ exchange rate with the Euro and the switch from older olive oils being sold off in the last four months of 2008 to new season oils from the Northern Hemisphere coming on the market early in 2009.
|
| Imported olive oil customs value (cv) in Australian $ per litre
| |
| Month | Virgin olive oil packaged | Virgin olive oil bulk |
| Jul-08 | 4.06 | 4.07 |
| Aug-08 | 5.11 | 4.11 |
| Sep-08 | 4.66 | 5.13 |
| Oct-08 | 4.79 | 4.24 |
| Nov-08 | 5.04 | 5.34 |
| Dec-08 | 4.54 | 4.86 |
| Jan-09 | 5.78 | 5.82 |
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics data
Olive Business
22/2/2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Corrected Australian Consumption of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
We have read in at least three recent publications (Australian Extra Virgin – Production Facts and Figures (www.australianextravirgin.com.au , The Olive Grower and Processor, Weekly Times Now) that Australians consume approximately 44,000 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) a year. This is not correct.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics import data, the imports of olive oil for the financial year ending in June 2008 were as follows:
Virgin olive oil packaged (often referred to as extra virgin olive oil) 12,873 tonnes
Virgin olive oil in bulk (often referred to as extra virgin olive oil) 2,220 tonnes
Total virgin olive oil 15,093 tonnes
Olive oil, excluding virgin, packaged (referred to as refined olive oil) 14,931 tonnes
Olive oil, excluding virgin, bulk (referred to as refined olive oil) 1,867 tonnes
Total olive oil excluding virgin 16,798 tonnes
Note: These refined oils are usually described as ‘pure’ and ‘extra light’ on supermarket shelves.
Olive oil and their fractions including blends 333 tonnes
(referred to as olive pomace oil and blends with other vegetable oils)
Total olive oil imported 32,224 tonnes
The approximate figure of 44,000 tonnes is the total import figure added to the estimated Australian production of 12,000 tonnes giving a total consumption figure of 44,224 tonnes.
If we assume that Australian Olive Association assertion that ‘Australian olive oils are almost entirely extra virgin olive oil’, is correct, we can take 90% of Australian production as EVOO giving Australian consumption of extra virgin olive oil of around 26,000 tonnes, less exports.
Exports of virgin olive oil (which includes re-exported imports) for the financial year ending in June 2008 were 2556 tonnes.
A reasonable estimate of Australian consumption of EVOO is therefore 23,500 tonnes a year, 20,500 tonnes less that that claimed on the Australian Extra Virgin Brand website.
The website also claims that about 35% of Australian extra virgin produced in
Official Australian olive oil production reported by the International Olive Council for 2006/2007, which would be exported in 2007/2008, is 9,000 tonnes. This gives an export percentage closer to 28% (less when re-exports are taken into account).
Olive Business
22/2/2009
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