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The IOC headquarters hosted the 42nd meeting of the Advisory Committee on Olive Oil and Table Olives on 25 October. Created in 1991 as a meeting point for industry professionals from the IOC member countries to voice their opinions, it is a key talking partner for the IOC Executive Secretariat and helps it to identify effective solutions to issues of concern to the sector.
During proceedings, the committee designated a new chairperson and two vice chairpersons in line with article 2 of its rules of procedure. Committee officers are elected from among the representatives of the professional and consumer organisations. The chair for the next two years (2014 and 2015) goes to Luis Folque, a representative of processors and President of the Portuguese association CASA DO AZEITE (Lisbon, Portugal). The new chairman replaces Ali Ben El Hadj M'Barek (Sousse, Tunisia) who has represented producers since the committee was first set up and has held the committee chair on two occasions, firstly in 1997–2000 and then in 2010–2013.
For the two vice chairs, committee representatives elected the former chairman Ali Ben El Hadj M'Barek and the Head of Institutional Relations at the Consorzio Olivicolo Italiano (UNAPROL, Rome, Italy), Michele Bungaro, who also represents producers.
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the committee, the IOC Executive Director conferred the IOC insignia on the four former chairmen of the committee:
• Juan Vicente Gómez Moya (Spain), who has represented processors since the committee was created in 1991 and held the chair from 1992 until 1996
• Ali Ben Hadj M’Barek (Tunisia), chairman from 1997 until 2000
• Gennaro Forcella (Italy), a representative of trade circles on the committee and former chairman between 2001 and 2005
• Francisco Molina Molina (Spain), representing producers on the committee and chairman between 2006 and 2009.
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