Coin theItaly which just today broke through the roof of the 290 thousand tons of oil produced (we are at 291.260), together with Mercacei magazine we will take stock of the production campaign in the other main countries, thanks to the contributions of international consultants and experts in the olive oil sector.
Spain - The director of the Spanish Association of Olive Municipalities (AEMO), José María Penco, assures that the campaign has developed as expected, with a limited production aiming for a final figure very similar to that foreseen by the official capacity, around 760.000 tons of olive oil. According to Penco, the fat yield was lower than average, around 2 points less than what was recorded in Spain, obviously depending on the area. As for the quality, Penco underlines that it is generally good, without particular incidences of parasites such as the olive fruit fly.
Greece - As regards the situation in the Hellenic country, the broker specialized in the Greek market Luigino Mazzei states that the campaign has already ended and that unfortunately, due to the much lower than normal yields and the decline in olives due to anthracnose, the total production is been reduced. at about 110.000-120.000 tons.
Mazzei recalls that at the end of October the production forecasts were updated downwards, which was confirmed and accentuated during the campaign. On that occasion it was noted that, after the control in the territory of Crete, a widespread presence of Gloesporium had been detected, a fungal disease that causes the blackening and dryness of olives and, consequently, their falling. As detailed, this disease was present across much of the island due to drought. The quality, he noted, is also well below the norm.
Tunisia - The Italian commercial agent and broker Adriano Caramia underlined that the harvest forecasts for Tunisia have been respected, since the latest estimates provided by government authorities and experts agree on a production of 200.000-220.000 tons of olive oil. As detailed, the regions of Sidi Bouzid, Kairouan and Kasserine (central-west) contribute approximately 35% to total production; the southern regions, approximately 28%; and the rest is equally distributed between Central-East and North.
The yields are quite unequal in relation to the pedoclimatic conditions, even if the national average is around 20%, while the qualities obtained are satisfactory. Caramia added that harvesting and pressing are still ongoing. Specifically, an intense campaign is expected until the end of February, decreasing in the first days of March and ending completely at the beginning of spring. He also highlighted that the sector has experienced numerous vicissitudes linked to the sharp increase in prices and the consequent drop in internal consumption, with the measures adopted by the Government to allow purchases at affordable prices for the population. Likewise, he stated that exports do not stop, especially to Europe and the United States (where Tunisia is in second place among exporting countries). “The increase in these sales flows, combined with record prices, allow the North African country to have significant increases in income,” she observed. He concluded by highlighting that the rainfall recorded so far represents a great relief for the olive groves, "and if it rains more generously until March/April, an abundant future harvest is expected, considering the excellent vegetative development of the plants to date".
Morocco - Regarding Morocco, Noereddine Ouazzani, founder and director of Agro-pôle Olivier, explained that the exceptionally high temperatures and very hot days in spring and summer, combined with the lack of rain and exceptionally high temperatures recorded in September and beginning of October, were the main climatic characteristics of this campaign. These conditions caused severe water stress in olive trees and groves in arid areas which experienced a short harvest. “Fortunately, the November rains somewhat limited the damage to expected production,” he added.
Despite a relatively higher production compared to last year, Ouzzani underlined that current estimates from operators in the Moroccan olive sector place production between 80.000 and 100.000 tons, which represents a decline of between 35 and 45% compared to the production of a normal year, estimated at 120.000-180.000 tonnes.
Most of this production comes from traditional irrigated olive groves and intensive olive groves, which this year recorded high yields per hectare. These irrigated olive groves (traditional and intensive) represent approximately 30% of Morocco's olive growing area, estimated at 1.220.000 hectares. Currently "we are experiencing an exceptional drought in several Moroccan olive-growing areas and if the lack of water persists, next year's olive oil production will be compromised", he underlined, specifying that this situation has had important repercussions on the local market of olive oil.
Türkiye - For his part, Murat Küçükçakıre, agronomist and consultant on several projects in Turkey and Azerbaijan, confirmed that after the record 2022/23 season there was a decline in production. Despite the National Council of Olive Groves and Olive Oil estimates 179.000 tons of olive oil e 442.000 tons of table olives, in his opinion “the reality will be with lower numbers”.
He added that in some olive-growing regions of Turkey, rainfall was heavy in the autumn months. “Although this makes harvesting difficult, this will have a positive impact on next year's yield.”
Portugal – In Portugal – reported Alberto Serralha, CEO of Sociedade Agrícola Ouro Vegetal, SA (SAOV), international olive oil producer and consultant -, the latest harvest was very similar to the previous one, characterized “by a month of October very hot, with high temperatures, intensity of rain, disappointing production and quite a few quality problems. In his opinion, the wait for a better accumulation of oil in the fruit and the rains have slowed down the start of the harvest for many producers, a delay which in many cases has caused significant losses of fruit in the ground and health problems. “The reduced olive yield and low efficiency of the industrial process as a result of record moisture levels in the fruit were permanent since the end of October,” he added.
In this sense, it predicted that the quantities produced will be similar to those of 2022, between 120.000 and 150.000 tonnes. In his opinion, "the constant entry into production of new olive groves helps the figures not to be even more negative, while the most positive data for the sector were the oil prices and ease of sale". At the same time, he highlighted that the lands and tanks have been filled with water and that the plantations are well prepared for a possible good harvest in the next campaign.
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