The olive oil campaign is doing so well that Spanish olivers have already lost 270 million euros

At the end of January, the Almazares de Middle Country They were working 24 hours a day and were direct to triple the amounts of olive last year. It seemed good news. Moreover, after years of drought, it was excellent news. But, As we warnedcould become a problem.

Well, it is already becoming a problem.

But how will it be a problem? I recognize that it may seem paradoxical. We carry several campaigns in which the big problem is that There were no olives. That shot prices, yes: but hardly compensated for the different links in the production chain. It is no coincidence that the world’s largest olive oil company lost 34 million euros only in 2023.

Now there are olives. The problem is that there are too many and that the sector is in such a weak state, that it has not been able to contain the price drop. There the complications begin.

Have prices fallen so much? At consumer level, not so much. But originally the situation has been very down. To get an idea, According to data from the Information and Food Control Agencyonly in March, “135,000 tons have been marketed (including imports) to an average of 3.62 euros in all categories.”

The amount is important, yes. Above all, because (Docked by international trade problems) We have reached a rhythm that can be at risk of the campaign link: reserves that allow stabilizing the price throughout the year. That is, it is important. But the key is the price.

What can we learn from the price? Historically, the line of the traditional dry land olive tree I was around four euros. It is true that the irruption of the irrigation olive tree and the New superintenive varieties They make many profitable farms at lower prices, but the bulk of the Spanish oil Keep from dry.

And that dry land has been the worst the crisis of recent years. The current price drop in origin puts it in a very complicated situation.

A complication of 270 million euros. In that amount, the UPA Secretary General Andalusia, Jesús Cózar, the dimension of the problem. “The olive groves have stopped receiving 270 million euros in the month of March, or what is the same, more than 8 million daily, due to the current situation of ruin prices at origin,” explained.

Your complaint is debatable, but makes sense. Because, indeed, “There are no objective reasons that justify this bearish trend of prices at origin.” Taking into account current reserves, technically speaking the price would have to be superior: oil is coming out at a rate that is not sustainable.

And that is what worries the producers. Knowing that in normal circumstances, the olive would have to sell almost two euros more expensive and, in this way, the 2024-2025 campaign would have been a revulsion. Right now is just another year of agony.

Image | MILTOF | Pom ‘

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