Olive oil production will fall more than 40% next season
Cooperatives Agro-alimentary of Spain estimates a reduction of more than 40% in the production of olive oil for the next campaign. Andalucía and Castilla La Mancha lead the decline, which in the case of the latter region, could be up to 60%.
The Sectorial Council of Olive Oil of Agri-food Cooperatives of Spain has held in Madrid a new meeting attended by representatives from all over the national territory, and at which the first estimates of oil production were made for the next Bell.
The president of the Sector Council, Rafael Sánchez de Puerta, said that “although these are very provisional estimates, everything indicates that the production in Andalusia will be at least 40% lower than last season, since there are many areas whose production will be seriously compromised to continue with the absence of rainfall ”.
Castilla-La Mancha is another of the Autonomous Communities that will see its production very depleted, since after its record reached this year (182,000 t.), It expects a decrease of its harvest of around 60%. In the province of Toledo the situation is dramatic.
The third region in importance, Extremadura also foresees, after two campaigns exceeding 73,000 tons, a significant decrease in productions that could be 20%.
Different is the situation in Autonomous Communities such as Catalonia, Valencia, Aragon and Navarra, which would improve the production levels of the current campaign although they would be below average values. Finally, Murcia said that the olive grove in this region has developed very positively and could be the region that will show the greatest increases in the national group.
At the meeting, the latest data published by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET) were presented, which show above-average temperatures and accumulated rainfall that in many provinces account for only 50-60% of the average values. The latest forecasts indicate that we will continue with this absence of rains during the next weeks and we will have episodes of high temperatures that will affect practically the entire Peninsula.
Despite the negative forecasts for the 2019/20 campaign, the president of the sector believes that “the high stocks with which we will conclude this campaign will be key to having sufficient availability to supply the markets.”
On the other hand, the Sector Council transferred the latest developments in relation to the voluntary self-regulation mechanism that Agro-food Cooperatives of Spain presented at the beginning of the month to the European Commission, and which it will defend today before the Directorates of Agriculture and Competition.
The sector considers it essential to have a tool that allows, in very specific situations, to adapt supply to demand to minimize price volatility and thus ensure greater consumption stability.
