"Dry and twisted tree with elongated and silver leaves,
park and strong, always rising from its roots ".
Since ancient times, the olive tree, venerated first for its religious and mythological connotations, and later for its food and health qualities, has represented the tangible sign of an evolution.
The olive tree is a typical cultivation of the Sicilian territory: first introduced to the island by the Phoenicians and subsequently cultivated by the Greeks, but it was the Romans who systematized the cultivation and spread, in a more widespread way, the marketing of the oil of this area. Today, the world of oil is the result of a long and consolidated history.
In the Province of Messina, along the buttresses of the Peloritani and Nebrodi mountains, there are thousands and thousands of olive trees scattered, characterizing the environment, carrying out an action to protect the landscape; on these olive trees the best olives of the Tyrrhenian are formed and ripen in the heat of the southern sun.
From the pressing of full and ripe olives, extra virgin oil is obtained, a precious product, fruit of the earth, but also of the constant and expert work of man. It has always been and always will be a cornerstone of the economy, supporting the income of the numerous small farms and the culture of our province.
In support of the province's olive growing, an important role is played by the A.P.O.M .. The A.P.O.M is an O.P. (Organization of Producers), was established on 14 June 1978 based on EEC Regulation 136/66 and EEC Regulation 1360/78. The association associates about 11,000 olive producers in the province of Messina.
The A.P.O.M. has been operating in the Messina area for 30 years, providing all associated olive farms with a range of services, including dissemination, technical assistance, collection, enhancement, promotion and marketing of the processed product, facilitating access to new markets.
The A.P.O.M. according to the statutory purposes:
- provides members with assistance for the exercise of a rational and economic activity in the sector of olive production, also through innovative technologies that contribute to promoting the competitiveness of the entire supply chain and through the implementation of common services, orienting the planning of the production of shareholders and the adjustment of the same demand, both from a quantitative and qualitative point of view. It has developed with the most representative mills in the province of Messina, especially as regards hygiene and processing techniques, agreements with which the rules of processing olives are dictated, selected directly by the members in order to obtain an extra oil virgin of superior quality;
- it also favors the processes of traceability, certification and qualitative protection of products (through the project referred to in EC Regulation 867/08) also for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations under current legislation;
- promotes environmentally friendly cultivation practices and production techniques in order to improve the quality of production and food hygiene, to protect the quality of water, soils and the landscape and to promote biodiversity.
The A.P.O.M. has made particular efforts, with adequate investments in men and means, in the sector of marketing the oil of the members. In fact, it has built a plant in Torrenova for the storage and bottling of olive oil, with a storage capacity of over 5,000 quintals and with a totally autonomous bottling plant with a bottling potential of n. 7,000 bottles per hour. This activity had considerable commercial success and was mainly aimed at the marketing of certified organic oils pursuant to the REG. CE 2078/92 and REG. CE 2092/91 and Valdemone DOP oils.
Numerous promotional initiatives have been launched both in Italy and abroad, with participation in Fairs, Exhibitions and Markets and meetings with all components of the supply chain. Countries like Holland, Germany, France and Japan greatly appreciate the peculiarities of our oils. In this perspective of promotion and enhancement, the creation of this package is inserted, called THE EXTRA VIRGIN OF QUALITY OF THE PROVINCE OF MESSINA, in which the result of the work and collaboration between the 'APOM and members: the excellence of extra virgin in the province of Messina.
