Changes in productivity in the virgin olive oil sector: An application to Protected Designations of Origin in Spain

Abstract

to the population´s growing concerns related to healthy aspects of food, there is also a growing interest taken in the origin or provenance of products as a source of information and significance in the sale of products and brands (Brugarolas et al., 2010). Without a doubt, one of the most successful formulas that agri-food operators have when it comes to competing in increasingly global markets, consists of emphasising all those aspects related to origin or provenance of products through different figures of protection. These figures are the Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) and the Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs), both RESEARCH ARTICLE OPEN ACCESS AbstractVirgin olive oil is a key ingredient of the renowned Mediterranean diet. In this context, the main objective of this study was to estimate and decompose productivity change for Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) in the Spanish virgin olive oil sector for the period 2008-2013. To this end, we introduced a Luenberger-type indicator based on a specific weighted additive model in Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), which, in contrast to previous studies, captured all sources of inefficiency and avoided infeasibilities. Regarding the results, we found a reduction in productivity, in average terms, in the first periods analyzed (-0.12 and -1.65), followed by an improvement (0.79 and 0.54), that in the last period analyzed (2012)(2013), however, returned to adverse figures (-0.47). In Spain, where foreign competition is weak, the most productive PDOs were those with an important number of oil mills and packaging/marketing companies such as "Montes de Toledo" and "Siurana"; productivity changes were mainly the consequence of downwards and upwards of the frontier of the technology over time. These changes were explained, to a certain extent, by the evolution of the economic crisis; and the productivity of the sector declined, in general, from 2008 to 2010, improving thereafter except for the last registered period, 2012-2013, where expectations for market recovery exceeded actual sales.

Technical Efficiency Assessment of Intensive and Traditional Olive Farms in Southern Italy

“…Also, the Authors observed that the inefficiency is caused by the fact that the farms do not use minimum input or do not raise the maximum output from the actual inputs. In another study by Aparicio et al (2016), a Luenberger-type indicator based on a specific weighted additive model in DEA was used to estimate and decompose productivity change for Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) in the Spanish virgin olive oil sector. According to their results, the most productive PDOs were those with an important number of oil mills and packaging/marketing companies.…”

The measurement of revenue inefficiency over time: An additive perspective

“…Moreover, it is obvious that the technical efficiency is highly subjective to the choice of the direction vector. To overcome this limitation, we adopt the WADF introduced by Aparicio et al [41] , instead of the DDF, to decompose our revenue Luenberger indicator, defined as:…”

The effect of particle size, temperature and residence time on the yields and reactivity of olive stones from torrefaction

“…Olive tree pruning biomass, olive leaves and extracted olive pomace have the potential to be used in a biorefinery to produce a range of chemicals through their conversion into fermentable sugars and other valuable molecules [12,13]. However, only a small amount of olive tree pruning is used as a raw material in power plants due to the feedstock's low density leading to high transportation and storage costs [14,15]. Prior to olive oil extraction, stones are removed from the olive fruit, washed to provide skin and pith for animal feed and later dried in large piles, as shown in the supplemental material (Figure S-6) [16,17].…”