MEDIA RELEASE 30 May 2008
Another olive heist strips grove of its first harvest
Olive thieves have struck again, this time at Canberra's Exhibition Park. The
Amenduni Australian Olive Expo's grove holds 200 olive trees, all of which have
been stripped of their fruits due to be harvested before the October event. This
is another in a string of thefts from olive groves in the Hunter Valley, NSW.
The grove itself is surrounded by security fences which are eight-foot high and
have barbed wire around the perimeter. No one on the grounds witnessed any
suspicious activity.
The Expo organiser, John Forrest, said it is disappointing that all the trees
have been stripped because this is the first year they would have been
harvested. He added that the data would have been used to obtain yield variety
trial results.
"We were hoping that this first harvest would yield about 20 to 30 litres of
extra virgin olive oil," said Forrest.
"The Expo grove is used every year for exhibitors to demonstrate new equipment
and techniques," he added.
Forrest said the olive theft will not have any damaging effect on the operation
of the Expo, which is to be held on Tuesday, 28 and Wednesday, 29 October 2008
at the Exhibition Park in Canberra, however no data will be collected from this
year's harvest.
The grove, which was planted four years ago, has 20 different types of trees and
10 different planting configurations.
The Expo is a two-day industry event focusing on the production, processing and
marketing of Australian olives and olive oil and will include over 150 static
and working displays.
Amenduni Olive Oil Processing Plants is the naming rights sponsor for the Expo,
held every year at the end of October. The Rural Industries Research and
Development Corporation (RIRDC) and the Australian Olive Association are also
partnering this industry leading event.
For more information on the 2008 Expo visit
www.australianoliveexpo.com or
call (02) 4353 9714.
Released for the Amenduni Australian Olive Expo by Dennis Rutzou Public
Relations (www.drpr.com.au)
For further information please call Kim Larochelle or Anthia Crosby on (02) 9413
4244.
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