«A un panal de rica miel?»: empresas y empresarios en la exportación de aceite de oliva andaluz, 1886-1936

This article examines, from an entrepreneurial perspective, Andalusian olive oil exports in the first third of the twentieth century, when the region became the world’s largest producer. Although the region exhibited good conditions for olive production, the sale of olive oil abroad required certain technological and organizational innovations. With their superior knowledge and experience in national and international markets, foreign or non-Andalusian companies drove this transformation process. Prior to the First World War, these non-local commercial firms were able to integrate the final phase of olive oil production, mainly refining, but rarely entered into the initial phases such as olive cultivation, nor did these companies establish significant connections with the regional companies. The sources of this historical analysis derive from documentation produced by the Spanish Federation of the Olive Oil Industry and by the Mercantile Registers of Andalusia.