It is raining so much in the province of Jaén that the olive oil harvest has had a problem: there is too much water

The “liquid gold” market expected a great recovery after years of drought, but the data you have given the Food Information and Control Agency At the end of December 2025, they have had a significant impact. Especially in the epicenter of oil production in our countrysuch as Jaén, where it has been registered a 45% drop in its accumulated production. Although it is something that hides an important economic paradox: it is selling more than ever. The figures. As detailed by the Ministry of Agriculture itselfthe reality of the current campaign is radically different from the previous one. While in 2024 Jaén accumulated almost 300,000 tons at the end of the year, this 2025 it has remained at half speed with 164,841 tons, which represents a variation of 45.3%. Something that has also been noticed at the national level. What has happened? Although everyone might think that we are talking about the drought that has caused there to be fewer olives, the reality is that excess rain has been the problem. The intense rainfall of November and December 2025, although beneficial for the tree in the long termhave been an obstacle to the harvest. Logically, with the mud it is difficult to enter with the machines to be able to pick the olives or work by hand. This has caused the harvest to be delayed and has affected the yield of the fruit. Other factors. Beyond the excess of rain at the end of this year, we must also highlight the high temperatures that were recorded in the month of June 2025, which damaged the weight of the fruit after spring fruit set that promised a lot, but fell short. Besides, according to COAG Jaénthe delay in taking the olive to the olive mill due to the weather has caused part of the fruit to suffer damage, reducing the final yield. Less oil, but more sales. Even though the silos fill more slowly, the market is extremely active. UPA Andalusia has highlighted that, despite the decrease in production, sales have increased by 10% in the last quarter, with a month of November where oil output reached 129,727 tons. This means that the consumer continues to demand olive oil despite the instability of recent years. Exports are also doing well, with a substantial increase of 44% in Andalusia, which puts pressure on current stocks, which are 13% lower than last year. The price. Without a doubt it is the most important point for the consumer, especially when in the past we have already seen really high prices for olive oil due to a bad harvest. Logic dictates that if supply falls and demand increases, prices should increase, but experts call for considerable caution. Right now, the price of Extra Virgin oil at origin moves between 4.20 and 4.29 euros per liter, and what is expected is that it will remain at a stable price during the year 2026, without major drops to maintain the stability of the sector that needs to cover costs. Images | Kostas Morfiris Nazar Hrabovyi In Xataka | Half of Spain has gone crazy with the question of whether olives make you fat or not. But your biggest problem is not calories.

The question is not when it will stop raining, the question is how much water this fall will fall

The Mediterranean slope has once again been in the center of an important rainfall episode. From Zaragoza to Murcia, rainfall has flooded streets and squares. Fortunately, the situation has not achieved the magnitude of what we saw last fall, but the situation led yesterday to the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet) to issue several notices, including red notices due to extreme risk. Final in sight. The situation has not yet been reversed, although the focus of the rains has been moving. If yesterday the most affected areas were in the center and north of the Levantine coast, today the risks are concentrated in the provinces of Valencia, Alicante, as well as in Murcia and in the Balearic Islands: in the early hours of today, Eivissa has seen fall More than 115 mm of water. Yesterday the accumulated rainfall They touch the 240 mm in barxValencia, and exceeded 100 mm at the province airport. In some areas of Castellón and Tarragona, rainfall also exceeded 57 mm. Experts expect the transition to October to bring a radical change in the atmospheric. Aemet does not include in its forecast the arrival of significant phenomena and indicates that it is expected “it provides stable time in much of the country”, except in the eastern zone that will still see rethinking instability due to the influence of the cold trough. Radical change. The Aemet monthly forecasts They seem to secondary this idea: the agency provides that a driest month of October than usual in almost the entire peninsula and, especially, in the northwestern zone. It is also expected that the temperatures of the next few days will be higher than what would correspond to these autumn dates. The thing could change during the second half of the month. Although temperatures could continue to be high, the agency begins to glimpse anomalously high rainfall on the Levantine coast during the week that begins on the 13th. Some somewhat more abundant rainfall is also expected than usual in the southwest quadrant during the final stretch of the month. Two slopes, two stories. But if we want to know (or at least intuit) what we have autumn, we have to go to the longer term forecasts. What do these forecasts suggest? Well, the tonic will last, with two different trends in peninsular Spain. Regarding rainfall, Aemet foresees a dry autumn in much of the territory. Probabilistically, the agency talks about 45% probabilities of a dry autumn compared to 20% probabilities of a humid fall. However, the thing changes in the east zone, where uncertainty prevails with respect to whether autumn will be wetter, drier or if on the contrary it will remain within the parameters of normality. Echoes of a different autumn. The forecasts give rise to a complicated scenario: the lack of rainfall in much of the country implies the return of the ghost of the drought. As if this were not enough, the predictions on the Mediterranean coast are compatible with the arrival of intense rainfall episodes. These do not have to reach the magnitude of those that occurred last year, but the rains of these days show us that they do not have to reach such dimension to cause important problems. In Xataka | After months of indecision, meteorologists already see the girl in Pacific waters Image | ECMWF

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