Olive oil dollar sales in the US for the year 2000 exceeded those of all other cooking oils, new industry data suggests. According to the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) olive oil sales accounted for 32.3 per cent, or nearly one-third, of the nearly $1.2 billion Americans spent on cooking oils. Olive oil was also the only major cooking oil to see its percentage of volume sales increase year over year in 2000. Imports passed the 200,000 metric ton mark, coming in at an all-time high of 204,000 metric tons. And, more consumers bought olive oil than ever before, with household penetration reaching 31.5 per cent. Overall sales of cooking oils declined slightly over the past three years. Against this backdrop, olive oil's strong performance indicates that Americans are learning how easy it is to make olive oil a part of their everyday cooking. Established in 1989, the NAOOA is a trade association of importers, marketers, and packers of olive oil in the U.S. and Canada as well as their respective suppliers abroad. The association's objectives are to supply North American consumes with top quality olive oil and to foster trade and consumer understanding of the benefits of olive oil.
