Tartous-Sana
The 239 olive mills in Tartous governorate started receiving the olive crop, amid preliminary estimates, producing more than 25 thousand tons of oil, according to the head of the specialized fruit trees department in the Tartous Agriculture Directorate, Eng. Mohamed Abdel Latif.
Abdel Latif told SANA reporter that there is a technical committee composed of the directorates of agriculture, internal trade, consumer protection, water resources and the environment that monitors the mechanism of work of the mills and how to dispose of peat water in a safe way, calling not to use inappropriate tools in harvesting the crop, and avoiding the long-term survival of olive fruits. After harvesting, he also called on the owners of the mills to apply the standards adopted in the centrifugal mills.
Abdul Latif noted the importance of the olive season, as it constitutes many job opportunities that provide additional income for the people of the countryside and for workers in the various sectors of agriculture, transport and pressing, pointing out that there are several different varieties of olives, including Al-Du'ibli, Al-Khudayri, Al-Khashabi, Al-Sukari, Al-Ayrouni and Al-Safrawi.
For his part, the Director of Internal Trade and Consumer Protection, Bashar Shaddoud, indicated that continuous rounds and patrols are carried out to monitor the work of the mills in various regions, amid oversight to show the extent of conformity or violation of their work, and to take samples permanently.
In the modern Karam Mughaizil mill, among the farmer Raed Hassan from the village of Ruwaisat Hamdan, the production for the current season is characterized by good quality and double productivity than the last season, especially after the recent rains, pointing out that the mill he chose is from one of the modern mills.
The owner of the mill, Eng. Nibras Ramadan, explained that the price of the afternoon was set at 8 percent of the production quantity, and coordination with farmers was done in advance to facilitate the work mechanism, pointing to the difficulties facing the work of the mills in the governorate represented in not providing sufficient quantities of diesel, and the difficulty of securing spare parts.
For his part, Ahmed Zamrini, owner of the Bako press in the countryside of Drikish, confirmed that the turnout is very good, and the mill has received farmers’ production since the beginning of last month through two production lines with a variable production capacity, indicating that the olive oil production process is excellent by controlling the temperature of the water that is used in the process of fermenting the dough.
The number of olive trees in the governorate is about 11 million trees, of which 10 million are fruitful. The cultivation of Tartous estimated the governorate’s initial production of the olive crop for the current season to be about 157 thousand tons.
Hiba Suleiman
SANA Economic Bulletin
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