International Olive Council (IOC)

Conseil oléicole international (COI)
Consejo Oleicola Internacional (COI)
Consiglio Oleicolo Internazionale (COI)

Founded

1959

History

Founded as International Olive Oil Council, to administer the International Olive Oil Agreement, which has its roots in the provisions of Chapter VI of the Charter drawn up Mar 1948, Havana (Cuba), by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment. Although this Charter was never ratified, its provisions were recommended by E-XE3377 - ECOSOC as enshrining the principles which would underline international agreements on commodities and they were observed by governments when such agreements were being negotiated. Such negotiations took place in Geneva (Switzerland) during United Nations International Conferences on Olive Oil which led to: (i) the initial T-XT5634 - International Olive Oil Agreement, 1956 - also called the '1956 Agreement, amended in 1958' - which expired on 31 Sep 1963; (ii) the second T-XT6351 - International Olive Oil Agreement, 1963 - also called the '1963 Agreement' - which came into force on 1 Oct 1963, was successively extended by the Protocols of 30 Mar 1967, 7 Mar 1969, 23 Mar 1973 and 7 Apr 1978 and expired on 31 Dec 1979; (iii) a third T-XT7978 - International Olive Oil Agreement, 1979 - also called the '1979 Agreement', following negotiations 20-30 Mar 1979, Geneva, during a further United Nations Conference on Olive Oil convened by the Secretary General of E-XE3381 - UNCTAD. The third Agreement took into account provisions embodied by UNCTAD in Resolution 93 (IV) and mentioned basic factors brought out by Resolution 1 (III), adopted on 19 Mar 1979 by the United Nations Conference concerning a Common Fund, under the Integrated Programme for Commodities (among which olive oil). The '1979 Agreement' came into force provisionally on 1 Jan 1980 and definitively on 1 Jan 1981, for a duration of 5 years; it was extended in 1984 and 1985, and expired 31 Dec 1986. Negotiations at the UNCTAD international conference, 16 June-1 Jul 1986, Geneva, culminated in T-XT8602 - International Agreement on Olive Oil and Tables Olives, 1986, which entered into force 1 Jan 1987. Its lifetime has been prolonged twice, ending on 31 Dec 1993. A Protocol adopted Mar 1993, Geneva, extended the Agreement, with amendments, until 31 Dec 1998, after which date the Council could decide to prolong it for successive 2 year periods, re-negotiate it or terminate it in advance. Agreement was prolonged, 4 Jun 1998, Budva (Yugoslavia), until 31 Dec 2000, again, 16 Nov 2000, Madrid (Spain), until 31 Dec 2002, again, 20 Dec 2002, Madrid, until 30 Jun 2003, and again, 25 Jun 2003, until 31 Dec 2004. T-XT0503 - International Agreement on Olive Oil and Table Olives, 2005 was adopted 29 Apr 2005. 2015 Agreement negotiated at international Conference, Geneva (Switzerland), Oct 2015, under the auspices of E-XE3381 - UNCTAD, and incorporates new, innovative features to adapt to the changing demands of the olive sector. Statutes registered in: 'UNTS 1/43557'; 'UNTS 1/4806'; 'UNTS 1/7239'.

Aims

Basic objectives of the International Agreement: put into operation or facilitate application of measures calculated to extend production and consumption of, and international trade in, olive products; ensure fair competition among countries exporting olive oil and table olives, whether producers or not, and ensure to importing countries delivery of a commodity conforming to all specifications of the contracts concluded; strive to obtain a balance between production and consumption; encourage fair competition and abate drawbacks of fluctuating market supplies; improve oil and table olive production; conduct research programmes and undertake any activity and measures to highlight the biological value of olive oil and table olives with particular reference to their nutritional qualities and therapeutic properties; carry out technical cooperation and transfer technology; improve production and raise productivity through programmes and action plans for the sustainable development of olive farming and better product quality.

Events

Activities

Structure

Council, meeting twice annually, comprises delegates of both mainly producing members and mainly importing members and elects Chairman and Vice-Chairman; Committees (5); International Arbitration Board; Executive Secretariat including Units (5) and Departments (10); Directorate, covering external relations and reporting directly to the Executive Director; Other Departments (3).

Languages

Staff

Finance

Relations with Inter-Governmental Organizations

Relations with Non-Governmental Organizations

Publications

Members

Type I Classification

Type II Classification

Subjects ^*

UN Sustainable Development Goals ^**

UIA Org ID

XC2302

Last News

2022