Don’t know the difference between virgin and extra virgin olive oil? Why not ask the experts?
“It’s the acidity,” says Domenico De Felice, an organic oil producer from Puglia, in southeastern Italy. “It [the oil] has to have the right balance between bitter and spicy. And the acidity ratio should be less than 8%.”
De Felice was one of 22 producers attending this year’s Southern Italian Agri Food and Tourism (SIAFT) fair in Japan, organised by Unioncamere (Italy’s Chamber of Commerce), and the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Japan (ICCJ). The event brought together Japanese buyers and food importers — many hoping to enter the Japan market.
“We make only organic oil, with no chemicals whatsoever, says De Felice about the main product of his company, Via Nova. “In fact, we have a low production ratio because we don’t use any [chemicals]. Sometimes the weather is not so good, so we lose our production.”
Most of the producers at SIAFT were small, family-run operations with high-end products, according to Immacolata Gentile, spokesperson for Mondimpressa, an agency of Unioncamere. “They are local, family companies. No industrial products,” she adds. “For some, it is their first experience abroad because they don’t export [at the moment]. And the Japanese market is difficult to enter.”
As buyers met with producers, they tasted wines and sampled products from seven Italian regions: Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily. On display were the finest in oils, wines, coffee, pasta and truffles. There were even a few specialty items.
“Olive marmalade is good on cheese,” says Aldo Quadrino [through an interpreter] of one of his unique items. Quadrino’s family-run operation in Fondi, 100km south of Rome, has been producing oil-related delicacies for nearly 90 years. Product lines include oils flavoured with porcini mushrooms, lemon, orange and rosemary — perfect for cooking fish and meat, or for salads.
“They are speciality products,” says Quadrino. “We use real oranges, real rosemary and real porcini to make the oils.”
Italian wines have been popular with Japanese consumers for many years. In fact, with a 17% market share, Italy is the second-largest wine importer after France. But most of the wines are from a select group of regions. The goal of SIAFT is to broaden people’s horizons.
“Everybody knows the wine from Tuscany and Veneto, but there are also very good wines from other regions like Campania and Basilicata,” says Gentile. “That’s the reason we are here — to present other regions.”
Gentile says Japanese consumers are sophisticated and demand quality, which is why Italian products are popular. Japanese like healthy products and “can understand the difference between industrial and high-quality products,” she says.
“That’s why this is a good market for these kinds of companies.”
Aside from wine, knowledge of other items such as olive oil is also growing in Japan, according to ICCJ secretary general Davide Fantoni. That is partially due to the promotional efforts of the chamber.
“The market is growing, although only 3% of the population is using olive oil [in Japan],” says Fantoni. “So there are big margins for growth.”
The ICCJ puts much work into what Fantoni calls “olive oil education”.
“We started three years ago, organising an Italian olive oil day,” he says. “From 9 until 7 o’clock [on those days], we have exhibitions of olive oil, workshops and seminars. We have Japanese sommeliers explain the properties of the oil. Whenever we can, we throw [in] a seminar and the interest is always very, very high,” Fantoni adds.
Luca Marracino visited SIAFT from the small region of Molise, along Italy’s Adriatic coast. He says Italian produce has much to offer and varies greatly from region to region. For example, he says the olive oil in his area has a distinct aroma “more flavourful than extra virgin oil produced in Toscana or Sicily, where the product has a scent of tomatoes.
“In Molise, the scent is of almonds,” Marracino concludes.