Lots of Olive Trees in Andalusia, Spain
Olive trees, lots of olives and more olives! I thought, it is Turkey who has the biggest plantation of Olives but it is not. I also saw hundreds of hectares of olive plantation during our vacation in Turkey but Spain is said to have more. It is actually in Spain particularly in the region of Andalusia. During our second day sightseeing in Andalusia while heading to Cordoba, I was amazed by the Olive trees I saw along the road. It was truly amazing!
Would you believe if I say that Spain is the country with the highest number of olive trees (more than 300 million), and is nowadays the world’s leading olive and olive oil producer and exporter. According to Iberia Nature, of the 2.1 million hectares (5.19 million acres) of olive groves, 92% are dedicated to olive oil production. The average annual production varies due to the cyclical nature of the harvest, but typically runs between 600,000 and 1,000,000 metric tons, only 20% of which is exported. About 80% of the crop is concentrated in Andalusia, the biggest olive growing area on the planet.
While we where on our way to Cordoba in Andalusia, Spain last Dec. 6, 2011. All you see along the road and on hills and mountains are Olive trees! amazing!
