'Olive oil will follow the wine industry'

PRESSING THE FLESH: Bill Hey of the Olive Press. WTA190514LFOLIVE.JPG

The Olive Press in Masterton has started the process of pressing olives for oil and an "exceptional crop" bodes well for all involved.

Operations manager Bill Hey said they started pressing olives about two weeks ago.

The crop this year is the result of ideal growing conditions. Mr Hey said the winds have been just right and there has been no significant early frosts affecting the fruit.

The only problem is that the trees are so full of fruit that it is slowing down the ripening process for most growers, making it hard for Mr Hey to predict when each load will come in to be pressed and whether to start up the pressing machinery.

The Olive Press presses olives for growers all around the country, but focus areas are Martinborough, Hawkes Bay, and the Kapiti Coast.

About 50 per cent of the olives pressed come from Martinborough.

The press has the capacity to process 1.5 tonnes of olives per hour but Mr Hey said so far they have only done 4 tonnes.

By the end of the season in August they will have processed about 500 tonnes.

Mr Hey said he predicts the olive oil industry will "take off in leaps and bounds" over the next few years as the trees start to mature and people start to appreciate the complexities of olive oil.

He said the olive oil industry in Wairarapa is at a similar stage to what the wine industry was about 30 years ago, on the verge of taking off.

The Olive Press is looking at expanding into bottling and storage over the next few years.