Competitiveness of Greek virgin olive oil in the main destination markets

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze the competitiveness of the Greek virgin olive oil in the main destination markets (German, Italian, UK and US market). Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve the aim, in the first stage the Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA2) Index was employed showing that Greek virgin olive oil has a comparative advantage over the other suppliers (mainly Italy and Spain) in the markets under examination. In the second stage, the estimations of an import demand system for each market were estimated. Findings Results demonstrate clearly the competitive advantage of Greek virgin olive oil in the German market but not so clear in the rest of the markets. A strategic shift to export high-quality branded virgin olive oil instead of bulk seems necessity, in order the Greek virgin olive oil to dominate to the international markets. Originality/value Though there are similar works, especially for Spanish olive oil, there is no analogous research work for the Greek olive oil.