The Center for the Study and Promotion of Olive Oil in Alentejo (CEPAAL)

As it has been thoroughly demonstrated along this book (see Chaps. 27 and 33 ), the olive sector is a crucial and strategic sector in the Portuguese agricultural policy and economy. Currently, Portugal is the seventh-largest producer of olive oil in the world and the fourth-largest exporter, with 96.4% of the olives produced used for olive oil and the remaining 3.6% for table olives. In the 2019/2020 campaign, Portugal produced around 140.5 thousand tons of olive oil (corresponding to about 930 thousand tons of olives), reaching a historic high. Within Portugal, Alentejo, in the southern Mediterranean half of the country, has consolidated itself as the region hosting the largest area of olive groves and, especially, as the most effective producer of olive oil, CEPAAL, created in 1999, strongly contributes to this goal, whilst also innovatively facilitating associativism and cooperation within the sector, a key factor for future success and sustainability.