olive oil in america 

Nowadays in the United States the consumption of fast-food is decreasing and the consumption of tapas and wine is rising in its place. One of the products that also is beginning to gain importance is olive oil. Previously, in the USA, there were many doubts about olive oil as many myths had been created stating that olive oil was not healthy (that it increased cholesterol and led to weight gain..) But this now has not only this been denied, but it has been assured scientifically that extra virgin olive oil helps to prevent cardiovascular diseases.

Last year the sale of Spanish products grew more than 5%. Spanish products are becoming more and more fashionable in the US. The products that are exported the most are olives and olive oil, of which provided a gain of 238 and 190 million euros respectively. The sale of olives has grown 31% this year and that of olive oil by 16%.

Both the olive and its juice, olive oil, are the main Spanish products exported to the U.S.

So that olive oil would become well known in the United States, some high quality chefs had to go there themselves, set up their own restaurants and teach the people about the highly nutritious diet that includes the consumption of olive oil. In addition they could also try other important Spanish products such as wine, Iberic ham and cheeses.

At the "Fancy foods" fair that takes place in New York you can see and taste Spanish olive oil first hand. More than 90 Spanish companies take part in this fair, which makes it one of the biggest fairs in the sector.

Another important point for the influence of olive oil in America is that many people that live in the United States of America are likely to get fat and have cholesterol problems and, as has been proved scientifically, extra virgin olive oil decreases the percentage of bad cholesterol and helps to prevent some cardiovascular diseases and they are beginning to get used to using it in their diet. In America Spanish olive oil is sold as a heart-healthy product.

It is also very much in our interest to export our olive oil to the U.S seeing that at the moment they are the fourth largest importers in the world and within a few years, no doubt, they have the potential to become the first.

In the next few years the U.S. could beome the principal importer, which explains the importance of exporting our olive oil there.