This year's Les Borges Blanques (Lleida) oil fair will feature 39 producers, 56% more than last year. from Lleida, Tarragona and Barcelona.
The twenty-seventh edition of the Borges Blanque Extra Virgin Oil Fair has opened to all of Catalonia. This is one of the main novelties of the event that will be held from January 19 to 21.
The fair will also have 37 exhibitors from other sectors related to gastronomy.
The mayor, Josep Farran, has highlighted that one of the objectives of the new rethinking of the Fira is to make it extendable all year round and that is why they want to address issues that concern the sector such as the climate crisis, the certification of the quality of the oil or depopulation.
The new government team in the Les Borges Blanques City Council, formed by the Borges por la República coalition and ERC, already announced last fall that the Fira de l'Oli would present some new features to change the trend of what had been done in the last years.
The first and most visible is the change in the edition counter, and that is that last year the 60th fair was held and therefore this year it would be the 61st. The poster shows that it is the 27th. It is because the previous The government team added to the Fira de l'Oli the editions of another machinery fair that was held in the capital of Les Garrigues and now they wanted to dissociate this event.
The other great novelty is the opening of the contest to oil producers from all over Catalonia and therefore to more variety.
In this edition the classic Arbequina variety from Les Garrigues will coexist with varieties such as Picual, Picuda, Koroneiki, Frantoio or Coratina.
They are oils and varieties that will arrive protected by various designations of origin, cooperatives, private mills and producer associations.
The objective, according to the organization, is to "collect the plurality" of entrepreneurship, production and quality certification models in the world of olive oil.
This opening also allows the number of producers present at the event to substantially increase, going from 25 last year to 39.
Another key to this reformulation is to try to make the fair more than just a weekend event. The mayor explained this Thursday that they want to extend it throughout the year with a political, economic, social and cultural agenda that addresses the main concerns of the sector such as the consequences of the climate crisis and the drought in oil production. depopulation, the loss of soil per crop, the role of the olive agroforestry mosaic in the construction of more resilient landscapes in large forest fires, or the oil quality certification models that have recently been the subject of controversy among non-member producers to the DO Garrigues established in the region.
To achieve a good part of these objectives, the Fira has sought the collaboration of the Fira de Reus and has joined forces because they consider that it is an "expert and experienced" event that can contribute to addressing and giving depth and coherence to the new strategic approach that It is wanted to be done in Les Borges Blanques.
For his part, the deputy mayor and councilor for Economic Promotion and Business of Les Borges Blanques, Salvador Noguera, has announced the finalist oil producers in the Fair's competition. Among the small producers are Vila-sana, Morell, Borges Blanques and Granadella. Among the major producers are Albagés, Castelló de Farfanya, Alcanó, Os de Balaguer, La Granadella and Morell.
Finally, the president of the Diputación de Lleida, Joan Talarn, has highlighted the proposal to consider the transformation of a competition that distinguishes LesBorges Blanques as the capital of the oil of Catalonia.
