The first official figures for the olive oil harvest show a drop in prices. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has published the first estimates of this year’s oil production which “indicate a resumption of the usual average production in Spain, after two extraordinarily low campaigns”, says the ministry directed by Luis Planas.
Concretely, production for the 2024-2025 campaign will reach 1.26 million tonnes, which would represent an increase of 48% compared to the previous harvest, which was one of the worst in history. This figure is also 4% higher than the average of the last six harvests.
These are “positive” data which “will help bring normality back to the markets,” Planas said in a press release.
Behind this rebound in production, which should result in a drop in prices at points of sale, lie “the rains produced during the spring which allowed good flowering and good fruit setting of the olive tree”, specifies the ministry. In addition, he emphasizes that “the climatic conditions of the coming weeks will be decisive to guarantee the good evolution of the olive, especially in the dry olive grove, where precipitation in this cultivation phase is essential for the production of oil” .
Improvements in Andalusia and Castile-La Mancha
These are preliminary data, as the start of the harvest is in November, but they indicate a trend, given that the previous harvest was 850,000 tonnes.
At the regional level, according to data published by the ministry, the estimate reflects a considerable increase in Andalusia, the largest producing community, with an increase of 77% compared to the previous campaign.
Thus, Andalusian production, estimated at 1,021,000, will represent 81% of the national total, while during the previous campaign it was barely 68%. In addition, Agriculture also highlights the increase in the second most productive community, Castilla-La Mancha, with 140,000 tons, or 29% more than in the 2023-2024 campaign.
