Olive oil occupies a leading position among the agricultural products of the nations of the Mediterranean Basin, such as Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Yugoslavia, Tunisia, Libya, Israel, Morocco, Algeria, etc. This oil is both a basic component of the diets of the people of these nations and a major item in their foreign trade. Together with special qualities of whole olives used for direct consumption, the oil is exported by these nations throughout the world, and for some of them it constitutes one of the most important economic resources. As an illustration, it will suffice to say that Italy alone has 165 million olive trees capable of producing each year about 350,000 tons of oil, worth around 155 billion Lire or 250 million dollars (Min. Agr. Foreste-Italy, 1960).