Business

Greek olives face squeeze in efficiency drive

By Derek Gatopoulos
Published February 24, 2014 1:28pm ET
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Greek olives face squeeze in efficiency drive
In this Friday, Nov. 29, 2013 photo, a Greek Orthodox Priest Dimitris Vlasopoulos collects olives from a canvas tarp in Kalo Pedi village, about 335 kilometers (210 miles) west of Athens. Plans to extend a brutal efficiency drive to olive oil production in Greece have been met with anger and disbelief. If proposals from a government funded study are adopted, olive oil blended with cheaper vegetable oils will soon go on sale as part of an effort to modernize Greece's economy, which was rescued from near bankruptcy four years ago. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris) | Petros Giannakouris

SIMIZA, Greece (AP) — In the olive groves around Ancient Olympia, sanctuary of the Greek gods, the trees were once considered sacred, and in many ways they still are.

Carefully pruned and pampered, they are described by farmers with a reverence that could match the language used by makers of champagne or single malt whisky.

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Food and Beverage Greece