The sectoral table of olive oil analyzes the actions of the Ministry

The Director General of Productions and Agricultural Markets, Esperanza Orellana, chaired on Tuesday, July 16, the Sectoral Table of olive oil and table olives, which has analyzed the situation of the sector and the actions taken by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in relation to the self-regulation mechanisms requested by the sector.

In this sense, the general director has reported on the contacts between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the European Commission. The Ministry has shown its support for the work carried out by the cooperative sector of olive oil, aimed at establishing a mechanism for self-regulation of supply in this sector, within the framework of Article 209 of the Regulation of the Common Organization of Markets of the agrarian sectors.

It was also noted the interest of the Commission services to collaborate with Spanish cooperatives and the Ministry in the development of a mechanism, absolutely novel, which will avoid such imbalances in the oil market as those that are taking place this year.

The representatives of the sector have been informed about the procedures and consultations established by the regulations, which are being carried out both with the European Commission and with the competition authorities, in relation to the proposals put forward by the Interprofessional Organization, in the frame of Article 164 of the Community Regulation on the extension of the standard.

Regarding the market situation, it has been highlighted that, for the fourth consecutive week, the trend towards the recovery of prices has been verified, which consolidates the favorable change of trajectory that has been taking place in the last month.

The Sector Board has also examined the behavior of the commercialization and very preliminary information has been exchanged on the state of the crop in the current dates, which points to harvest forecasts significantly lower than those recorded in the current campaign.

Other commercial issues have also been addressed, such as the Mercosur agreement, which opens up opportunities for the olive oil sector by liberalizing the entry of Spanish oils into a potential market of 264 million inhabitants, of which almost 55 million are Spanish-speaking.

In this area, it has been transferred to sector representatives the need to be prepared to achieve, in a scenario in which national production is increasing, gain presence in these markets, deficient in production.