Olive Production Economy Analysis

Olive Oil Production as Economic Activity In terms of its sheer impact on society, olive oil was the petroleum of the ancient world. The fruit of the olive tree and its oil provided food, medicine, and lubrication. The production of olive oil was a capital-intensive effort that required long-term planning. In Olive Production and the Roman Economy: The Case for Intensive Growth Empire, Robert Bruce Hitchner argues that the rapid growth of olive production and export suggests that rational economic behavior took place, contrary to the traditional view that the Roman economy was a stagnant affair not governed by economic concerns. His argument is based upon an analysis of olive oil production and export, in both the center and the periphery …show more content…
The Italian peninsula was densely settled, and each individual consumed approximately 20 to 25 liters per year, which represented approximately one-third of the average persons caloric intake. This means that the a massive amount of However, the peninsula did not produce olive oil at the scale required to supply Rome, and wine production increased, rather than olive oil. This means that in order to support the Roman population centers, olive oil would have to be produced elsewhere and imported to meet demand. The Roman Empire circled the Mediterranean Sea like a belt, which allowed for the easy transport of goods across great distances, like wheat from Egypt, or as the author asserts, olive oil from across the …show more content…
Multiple olive oil presses were often co-located together in purpose built complexes, which suggests that the production of olive oil was heavily industrialized. The surrounding buildings are modest and clearly play a secondary role to the oilery, which further suggests that olive oil production was an industrialized process. The dedicated facilities would be capital intensive to build, which would only be economically viable if the trade was robust. In the small-holder farms, large stone lever presses were constructed instead of cheaper options. This can be interpreted to mean that maximizing production was the primary goal of olive oil producers, which suggests that excess production could be disposed of through trade for a considerable return. Within the remains of the dedicated olive-oil production sites, production increasing technological innovations can be identified. When the totality of the archaeological record is taken into consideration, a clear picture of olive oil production in a region can be taken. Olive oil production was an industrialized process in Kasserine and Tripolitania, with production focused on maximizing volume. Production in the region—calculated using the capacity of presses found—far exceeded the domestic requirements, which means that the capital invested in facilities was the result of export market pressures. Hitchener uses the