Jordan Times
Thursday, October 7, 2004
JUSBP helps establish the Jordanian Olive Products Exporters Association
AMMAN, October 7 (JT) - With the assistance of
the Jordan US Business Partnership (JUSBP), a project funded by the US Agency
for International Development (USAID), several Jordanian olive oil and olive
product companies have come together to form the Jordanian Olive Products
Exporters Association (JOPEA).
The seven JOPEA founding members represent oil mills, bottlers and table olive
producers.
JOPEA hopes, however, to gain a wider member base that covers all aspects of
olive production — both in food and non-food products such as soaps and coal.
The ability to export will be the only shared denominator and “must-have”
criteria for current and future membership admission to JOPEA.
With the necessary documentation in hand, the seven olive product companies are
laying the groundwork for the association — choosing board members, electing a
chairman, and establishing the guidelines for the nonprofit NGO, whose main goal
is the development, promotion and protection of Jordan's olive products sector.
“While Jordanian olive production is considered to be relatively small (when
compared to giant producers such as Spain or Tunisia), the growing of olive
trees has always been of great importance to Jordan, both culturally and
economically.
Jordan produces hundreds of thousands of tonnes of olives every year, most of
which was previously pressed into oil and sold at different price ranges, with
inconsistent quality and in mediocre packaging.
Most recently, however, olive oil processors have shifted into high gear and
have begun producing exportable high quality olive products with in improved
packaging,” said JOPEA board member, Obada Kayyali, general manager of chains,
for table olives.
Kayyali continued: “Knowing that our production level is small and the
agricultural area and water resources limited, Jordan needs to maximize its
return as much as it can. This means massive resources must be directed towards
branding, quality awareness, and implementing the latest technological trends in
all related aspects of the olive product sector.”
To jump start the implementation and readiness of the association, JUSBP tasked
a local business consultant to serve as a facilitator to assist the members in
establishing the preliminary groundwork for JOPEA. Ideas on what role the
association would play and how it would serve its members in the most effective
manner were tackled.
On sector specific assistance to business support organizations (BSOs) like
JOPEA, Nayef Stetieh, JUSBP vice president and director of business development,
said: “In response to the needs of our client companies and BSOs, JUSBP offers a
broad range of services and financial assistance geared towards helping
Jordanian small- and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) develop, advance, and
eventually lead in the industries in which they compete. The olive oil sector
provides employment opportunities for many Jordanians and will, therefore, be
given the necessary prepping and support to boost its competitiveness.”
At the end of the brainstorming session with the facilitator and JOPEA members,
a tentative vision, mission, services and strategies of the newly formed
association were put forth.
“As an association, JOPEA will, among other things, strive to deliver services
targeted at building the capacity of its members, promote and lobby for the
sector, provide direction on how to optimize performance and processes, and
create better overall conditions for olive sector companies to thrive,” stated
Musa Saket, chairman of JOPEA and CEO of Alia Specialized Industries Co./Zaitt.
In addition to helping to organize the industry in Jordan, one of the sector's
biggest challenges is access to international markets. “JUSBP has already begun
to assist several olive sector companies market their products in the US.
JUSBP's cooperation with a leading US marketing company has already led to
exports of olive oil to the US. JUSBP will continue to help olive oil companies
identify opportunities to ratchet up their export sales,” said Raed Haddadin,
JUSBP project manager for the food and olive oil sector.