West Coast Products-Olinda Brand, a Northern California table olive grower and processor, have announced the completion of its 2013 harvest and cites an average crop yield with very strong quality. "We took in about a thousand tons, including 20 percent from
smaller farms," said Dan Vecere, general manager, West Coast Products-Olinda Brand.
Olinda Brand olives are Sevillano, one of the largest green specialty varieties sometimes called the "Spanish Queen," and must be hand-picked to protect them from damage such as bruising. Approximately 40 agricultural workers harvested West Coast Products' 88-acre orchard's 7,000 trees in three weeks during the 2013 harvest.
According to Vecere, the olive crop sizes were excellent this year.
"With green Sevillanos we like to see the bigger fruit, which have stronger flavour and taste. Our customers will really enjoy the 2014 olive products since this season's harvest included the best of the top sizes – super colossal, colossal, and jumbo." Vecere emphasized that because of the natural curing process it takes 10-to-12 months to bring these olives from orchard to market.
Harvest season also means the California table olive industry has a multiplier effect, which spurs economic growth noted Adin Hester, president of the Olive Growers Council of California.
"When a company like West Coast Products-Olinda Brand purchases olives from the smaller ranchers (less than 20-acre parcels) at several hundred dollars a ton it pumps hundreds of
thousands of dollars back into the economy and leverages spending and growth in the state," said Hester.
Nearly half of the table olives in California are grown in the Sacramento Valley. Industry leaders report table olive production in Glenn County, where West Coast Products-Olinda Brand is situated, surpassed the $20 million mark in 2012.