A NATIONAL taste test has revealed 80 per cent of Australians prefer locally made extra-virgin olive oil to the imported product.

The industry's peak body, the Australian Olive Association, is conducting taste tests across the nation to educate consumers on home-grown oil compared to imported olive oil.

The association's stand at a recent Sydney food and wine show attracted 10,000 visitors, 8000 of whom took the blind taste test.

AOA director Jayne Bentivoglio said 80 per cent preferred the Australian extra-virgin olive oil.

This was backed by 5000 people completing a blind taste test at a Perth food and wine show, with 80 per cent preferring the Australian product.

Melburnians had a chance to participate, with the taste testing moving to the city last week.

High-profile Sydney chef Matt Moran has been enlisted to promote Australian oil, and the AOA is in talks with the Masterchef Australia television program.

"We are educating Australians about the uniqueness, quality and freshness of Australian extra-virgin olive oil," Mrs Bentivoglio said.

"We are not about selling the sausage, but the sizzle."

The consumer awareness campaign is underpinned by a $200,000 Federal Government grant, and is complemented by an industry code of practice launched late last year.

Under the code, independent government laboratories will be commissioned to sample local and imported oils in the marketplace, to ensure compliance with quality standards.

The code covers production and marketing, food safety, product traceability, labelling, record keeping and environmental management.

Mrs Bentivoglio said the industry aimed for 90 per cent of Australian olive growers to be signatories to the code.

"We already have 60 small to large growers signed up, but with 400 growers in Australia we still have a long way to go," she said.

Riverina grower and processor Gerard Gaskin said the code of practice was critical to the industry's future.

"It comes down to good management practices and record keeping," he said.

Meanwhile, Olives NSW was formed at Wagga Wagga last week, to unify the state's grower groups.

Chairman Peter O'Clery said Olives NSW would establish a grower database and identify productive and unproductive groves across the state.

Mr O'Clery said research was needed on cultivar performance, pests and vermin, and synergies between wine and olives.

Riverina Olive Growers Association president Warwick Grant said membership had declined.

"People are retiring or losing interest - Olives NSW aims to bring these people back to the fold for a more unified industry," Mr Grant said.