The national association of Frantoiani Italiani Olio di Qualità (FIOQ) , which represents 30 oil mill companies with a transformative capacity of over 3 million quintals of pressed olives , 15% of the processed product in Italy.
In recent days, the process for the establishment of the FIOQ was completed with the signature of the 30 founding members and with the election to the office of President of Riccardo Gugliemi , former national contact person of the Italian Frantoiani Department of Agrocepi e Alfonso Fucci in that of Vice President. An associative reality that since its establishment represents the interests of a hundred companies that gravitate around the core of the founding members and that are completing the membership process.
Among its aims, the association of Italian Quality Oil Frantoiani includes that of representing the requests of a sector which, according to the membership base, has been poorly protected both in terms of image and in terms of defense of economic and social interests.
“The oil millers – President Gugliemi begins – today are finally in a position to be represented by other oil millers, by people who understand their needs because they have fully shared their entrepreneurial path. The category has too often been considered the weak link in the agri-food chain because it was considered a place where speculations were concentrated. Unfortunately, the reality of the facts is diametrically opposite: the transformation phase was the connecting link that for fifty years has kept the olive sector on its feet, and has often suffered the repercussions of the market at the forefront.
For simple reductionism or for forced simplistic visions, the category of oil millers has been associated with the phase of wholesale marketing of the olive product.
But for years we oil millers have been mainly the trade d’union between agriculture and industry and if the national and regional agri-food system can boast an added value on the market for Made in Italy, it owes it to us too, to our commitment and our sacrifices. We do not seek praise or honorable mentions, but we must give Cesare what belongs to Cesare and if the bottled quality of Italian and Apulian oil is recognized and appreciated today, it is also thanks to our skills and knowledge that we have shared with the supply chain. We are called Frantoiani Italiani Olio di Qualità, because we are proud of every single word of this acronym, we are proud to be oil millers, we are proud to feel Italian and ambassadors in the world of Italy and its excellence, such as quality oil “.
“In terms of promoting quality, we will be the first players – continues the new president of FIOQ.
Often the millers have not been involved in the processes of creating brands with quality schemes, such as the PDO or PGI. Only additional costs were imposed on the oil mills which are not found on the market, as little or nothing has been done in terms of promotion of the PDO or PGI. We want to give our contribution by placing ourselves at the forefront in the activation of information and promotion paths for the recognition by the final consumer of the product peculiarities that underlie the quality regimes “.
“As president – concludes Gugliemi – I also want to clarify the vision with which we intend to work not for the millers, but with the millers: we will not be a bureaucratic superstructure, sterile in its proposals and inactive on the front of trade union action. We want to give a quality service that honors the quality that the oil mills produce. The watchword is quality . If it is the facts that speak, rather than words, then it will mean that we have only done our duty. I wish everyone a good job and I am ready to welcome all those companies that have already approached and who want to be part of it “.
