The increase in harvests from the Mediterranean countries offsets Spain’s decline

Tunisia, Greece, Italy and Portugal increase their production whilst Spain will drop by 25% which represents 1.36 million tonnes.

Although it is still too early to assess the definitive data on the olive oil production from the 2019-2020 season, it should be pointed out the upsurge in volume from Mediterranean countries. Tunisia will experience a three-fold growth in its harvest compared to the previous year and will account for 370,000 tonnes; and Greece will increase by 50% reaching 295,000 tonnes. It also should be highlighted the recovery of Italy that managed to double its scarce production from the previous season and reached 360,000 tonnes; while Portugal may grow up to 135,000 tonnes and Algeria: 90,000 tonnes.

Besides the Mediterranean countries, it should also be noted the production rise in countries such as Argentina, which accounts for 40,000 tonnes, Jordan that will reach 29,000 tonnes, Australia with 22,000 tonnes and Chile with 20,000 tonnes.

The increase in production in the aforementioned countries will globally offset the slump in the Spanish harvest, which is largely caused by drought. The consultant Juan Vilar assures that “the Spanish production will decline by around 25% accounting for 1.36 million tonnes compared to 1.8 million tonnes harvested last year. Thus, the global harvest could increase by slightly above 3% reaching 3.29 million tonnes”.

However Spain is not the only country that drops in its production. It also happened to Turkey, which might account for 180,000 tonnes, which is 20,000 more tonnes than what Morocco will produce; and Syria will once again account for 80,000 tonnes.

Way more modest is the production in countries such as the United States and Libya that might reach 15,000 tonnes each; Egypt: 25,000 tonnes; while Israel and Palestine may account for 16,000 tonnes each. Furthermore, France expects a harvest of 7,000 tonnes, whilst Croatia and Iran might account for 5,000 tonnes each.

The olive oil stored from previous seasons could drop thanks to the expected increase in consumption that is due to the 10%-price drop and to promotion policies carried out in Spain, Italy, Tunisia, Jordan and the United States. In the US, producers have requested Trump’s Administration not to include tariff barriers to olive oil.

The olive grove covers 11.68 million hectares across the world. There are 64 olive oil-producing countries and already 180 olive oil-consuming countries from across the five continents.