ALGERIE: Hakim Alileche left a successful career in graphic design and moved to the Algerian countryside to produce “magic potion” — organic olive oil that has won him international recognition.
The 48-year-old says he chose the Ain Oussera plateau for its cheap land and water supply.
His oil won first prize at the Dubai Olive Oil Competition in the Extra Virgin Early Harvest category in February 2021 and in May he won silver at the Japan Olive Oil Prize.
“These honors really reassured us because it means we were right,” he said.
The farm of some 40 hectares (100 acres) has over 15,000 olive trees, and so far 9,000 have started producing.
“I started planting them bit by bit from 2005. I like farming and I’ve been fond of olive trees since I was little,” he said.
“In Algeria, it’s a sacred tree.”
Producing organic olive oil “puts me right into this mood of respect and protection for the planet,” he said.
He has visited several other producing countries — Bosnia-Herzegovina, Greece, France and Italy to learn about production methods.
“These trees have never had any chemical treatment and I will do everything to make it stay that way,” he said, clasping a goblet of oil freshly extracted from his modern Italian press.
“It's really food and medicine,” he said, taking a sip of the fragrant liquid before heading out to supervise workers harvesting olives in the orchard.
As with every year since entering into production, Alileche is picking his olives early, in a country where the harvest does not start until mid-November.
“An early harvest allows you to get all the benefits of the olives, all the natural antioxidants,” he said.
The olives are scraped off the branches by hand to avoid damaging the trees, and fall on a tarpaulin on the ground to then be scooped into crates and hauled off to the press.
“Crushing them the same day avoids the olives oxidizing,” Alileche said.
Picked this early, the olives give a meager amount of oil — just eight liters per 100 kg (14 pints per 220 pounds). That compares to 18 liters for fully mature fruits.
“Our oil is a very high quality that we want to get certified in Europe” as organic, Alileche said.
He has labeled his oil Dahbia, the name of both his mother and his wife.
The production process “respects the entire ecological system: No pollution, no fertilizers.”
The oil’s free acidity — a measure of quality whereby the lower the figure, the better the oil — is 0.16 percent, just a fifth of the 0.8 percent limit for Extra Virgin oil.
“At the mill, we don’t touch the olives much,” he said. “We wash them, press them and finally bottle the oil.”
That breaks with more traditional practices, he added.
“Before, people wouldn’t wash the olives and they would sit exposed for long periods in bags in the open air, which changed the taste of the oil.”
Alileche’s farm benefits from a drip irrigation system, but he fears that climate change could threaten his livelihood, bringing both drought and early summer hailstorms.
“A quarter of an hour of hail and it’s all gone,” he said. “You’d have to wait five years for the olive tree to recover.”
Algerian farmer’s olive oil wins global recognition
https://arab.news/zbj7v
Algerian farmer’s olive oil wins global recognition
Global brands shut Middle East stores as conflict causes chaos
- Luxury brands and retailers close stores in Middle East
- Conflict threatens the region that has been luxury’s fastest growing
- Mass-market retailers monitor situation, adjust operations in region
PARIS: In Dubai and other major Middle Eastern shopping hubs, many stores are closed or operating with a skeleton staff as the escalating conflict in the region causes chaos for businesses and travel.
The US-Israeli air war against Iran expanded on Monday with no end in sight, with Tehran firing missiles and drones at Gulf states as it retaliates for a weekend of bombing that killed Iran’s supreme leader and reportedly killed scores of Iranian civilians, including a strike on a girls’ primary school.
Chalhoub Group, which runs 900 stores for brands from Versace and Jimmy Choo to Sephora across the region, said its stores in Bahrain were closed, while other markets, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan remained open though staff attendance was “voluntary.”
“We operate with a lean team formed of members who volunteered and feel comfortable to come to the store,” Chalhoub’s Vice President of Communications Lynn al Khatib told Reuters, adding that the company’s leadership team personally visited Dubai Mall and Mall of the Emirates on Monday morning to check in with workers.
E-commerce giant Amazon closed its fulfillment center operations in Abu Dhabi, suspended deliveries across the region and instructed its employees in Saudi Arabia and Jordan to remain indoors, Business Insider reported on Monday, citing an internal memo.
Gucci-owner Kering said its stores were temporarily closed in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar and it has suspended travel to the Middle East.
Luxury growth engine under threat
Shares in luxury groups LVMH, Hermes, and Cartier-owner Richemont were down 4 percent to 5.7 percent on Monday afternoon as investors digested the knock-on impacts of the conflict.
The Middle East still accounts for a small share of global spending on luxury — between 5 percent and 10 percent, according to RBC analyst Piral Dadhania. But the region was “luxury’s brightest performer” last year, according to consultancy Bain, while sales of expensive handbags have stalled in the rest of the world.
Now, shuttered airports have put an abrupt stop to tourism flows into the region and missile strikes — including one that damaged Dubai’s five-star Fairmont Palm hotel — are likely to dissuade travelers, particularly if the conflict drags on.
“If you assume that it’s a $5 billion to $6 billion (travel retail) market and let’s say it’s going to be shut down for a month, we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars that are definitely at risk,” said Victor Dijon, senior partner at consultancy Kearney.
If Middle Eastern shoppers cannot travel to Paris or Milan, that could also hurt luxury sales in Europe, he added.
Luxury brands have been investing in lavish new stores and exclusive events across the region. Cartier unveiled a “high-jewelry” exhibition in Dubai’s Keturah Park just days before the conflict started.
Cartier and Richemont did not reply to requests for comment.
Luxury conglomerate LVMH has also bet big on the region. Last month, its flagship brand Louis Vuitton staged an exhibition at the Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab hotel, and beauty retailer Sephora launched its first Saudi beauty brand.
LVMH does not report specific figures for the region, but in January Chief Financial Officer Cecile Cabanis said the Middle East has been “displaying significant growth.” LVMH did not reply to a request for comment on how its business may be impacted by the conflict.
The Middle East has also attracted new investment from mass-market players. Budget fashion retailer Primark said in January that it plans to open three stores in Dubai in March, April and May, followed by stores in Bahrain and Qatar by the end of the year.
“Primark is set to open its first store in Dubai at the end of March but clearly this is a fast-moving situation which we are monitoring closely,” a spokesperson for Primark-owner Associated British Foods said.
Apple stores in Dubai will remain closed until Thursday morning, the company’s website showed, while Swedish fast-fashion retailer H&M said its stores in Bahrain and Israel are closed.
Consumer goods group Reckitt has told all employees in the Middle East to work from home, temporarily closed its Bahrain manufacturing site and suspended all business travel to the region until further notice.
