A man piles up olives in a traditional olive-oil mill near Chefchaouen, Northern Morocco in this photo taken February 2007. The world's growing taste for olive oil is pouring new life into parts of rural North Africa, where the golden liquid has been a staple since ancient times. However, drought, archaic production methods and poor marketing are a challenge for local producers facing growing competition as more countries slip into the olive oil market. Tunisia and Morocco lack the big energy reserves of their OPEC-member neighbours Algeria and Libya and their dry, hot climates make olive oil a promising alternative export. To match feature NORTHAFRICA-OLIVEOIL/
REUTERS/RAFAEL MARCHANTE