The Olive Growing Agri-Industrial District of Jaén and the International Olive Oils Cluster

This article presents olive oil production from both the cluster and the industrial perspective. We distinguish both concepts to interpret the current reality from a territorial point of view. In this sense, we use the notion of the agri- industrial district to explore olive growing activity in the province of Jaen, due to the special social and historic relations that are involved in the organisation of production. On the other hand, we use the cluster concept to characterise organisational proximity linked to different companies which form the international olive oil value chain. The agri-industrial district has focused its attention on the production of oil to be sold in the intra-industrial bulk unbottled oils market. But new challenges are taking place upstream in the cluster, with new players emerging, especially in the distribution channels. In addition, downstream, we are observing the emergence of new industrial and service activities that could pave the way for the next structural changes in the rural development process in Europe.