The decline in Italian olive oil production, already anticipated by OlivoNews and expected in the next olive oil campaign, it would be around 32% and second Coldiretti e Unaprol, which they presented together with Ismea le 2024 estimates. It was discussed on the occasion of the G7 Agriculture in Syracuse, where as is known the olive oil campaign started at the beginning of September, present David Granieri, national vice-president of Coldiretti and president of Unaprol, Maria Chiara Zaganelli, general manager of Ismea, and Nicholas DiNoia, director of Unaprol.
The decline in Puglia weighs heavily
“The production of olive oil – Coldiretti and Unaprol report – should settle around this year 224 million kilos, a quantity that drops Italy to fifth place in the ranking of the main producing countries. Weighing on the campaign is especially the data from Puglia where it is estimated that the harvest has been practically halved compared to last year”.
In the region, which alone represents about a third of the national olive groves, flowering and fruit set have been quite limited this year, with the plants going into water stress due to the little summer rain and high temperatures.
The situation is less serious in Calabria and Sicily
Similar situation in Calabria e Sicilia where losses are estimated which, at the moment, however, appear to be more contained than those of Puglia.
In Calabria, another strong producing region, the prolonged absence of rainfall has accentuated the water stress in plants, to which was added a early olive fall, especially in younger or less vigorous orchards. In Sicily, flowering and fruit set were good, but part of the production was lost due to fruit drop in June and part of July. The drought in August further reduced expectations, although the first data on oil yields seem rather good.
The Center-North is doing very well
The collapse of production in the South is contrasted by the record increase recorded in the regions of North parta + 75 %, And Center (+70%) compared to a very deficient 2023.
Good news also comes on the quality front, which promises to be excellent, thanks to the commitment of approximately 400 thousand national agricultural companies in guaranteeing a product with extremely high standards, giving Italy the leadership in Europe for the largest number of extra virgin olive oils with denomination in Europe (43 DOP and 4 IGP) with a heritage of 250 million plants and 533 varieties of olives, the largest treasure of biodiversity in the world, based on the Coldiretti analysis.
“It is no coincidence that last year 100% Made in Italy Italian extra virgin olive oil was the only one to grow in consumption, demonstrating how Italian consumers have rewarded the quality of a product with immediately perceptible organoleptic characteristics. – David Granieri underlined –. A result that highlights how our EVO should no longer be considered a commodity tied to the logic of price, but a real food, which countless studies indicate as a precious elixir of long life, as well as a cornerstone of the Mediterranean Diet. Hence the need to keep our guard up against any attempt at speculation that can find fertile ground in the scarcity of the product at a global level, in the inevitable increase in prices and in the reduction of the price differential between Italian extra virgin olive oil and that of the main producing countries”.
Among other things, Unaprol and Coldiretti are carrying forward a Anti-fraud policy, increasingly growing due to the scarcity of the product, proposing in all institutional, national and international tables, the proposal to narrow the parameters relating to the acidity level of EVO oil, from 0,8% to 0,5%. "Important in this perspective - the two associations add - is the arrival of the new decree, strongly supported by Coldiretti and Unaprol and in the process of being published, on the methods of recording olives purchased by olive traders, with specific functions foreseen on the Sian, which will ensure greater transparency and traceability. It is also necessary to strengthen the discipline on condiments, which should have a detailed indication on the label of the percentage of extra virgin olive oil present in blends that mainly use refined oils and must be clearly separated on the shelves from EVO oil, so as not to generate confusion among consumers and allow deceptive maneuvers".
But the commitment of the Italian olive oil sector with Unaprol and Coldiretti also looks at climate change by asking to accelerate the implementation of the reservoir plan with pumping and change pace for a planned management of water resources, without which even Italian olive growing can no longer guarantee constant and quality production due to the increasingly violent effects of climate change.
