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Olive oil mills in the Syrian province of Homs are intensifying extraction operations for the current season, with a significant focus on technical standards to ensure premium quality and market value. The production process involves a sophisticated sequence starting from crop reception, sorting, and washing, followed by grinding and malaxation, and concluding with the separation of oil from water and pomace using centrifugal technology.
Technical experts in local mills emphasize that successful extraction depends heavily on the malaxation stage. In this phase, the olive paste is processed at a controlled temperature of approximately 25°C for 60 to 75 minutes. This process prepares the paste for efficient oil separation, particularly for drier fruits, before moving to the decanter for phase separation and finally to the separators to remove remaining impurities.
Mill owners highlight the critical role of pre-processing agricultural practices. The presence of leaves, impurities, or the mixing of fallen fruit with hand-picked olives significantly degrades oil quality. Key quality indicators monitored include acidity levels, peroxide values, and Delta parameters. Initial acidity tests are often conducted on-site to ensure compliance with Syrian standard specifications.
According to data from the Homs Agriculture Directorate, the preliminary production estimate for olives in the province this season stands at 85,000 tons. The cultivated area spans approximately 96,000 hectares, housing a total of 16 million trees, of which 14 million are currently fruit-bearing, underscoring the strategic importance of this sector to the regional economy.
Source: SANA