“Olive oil will climb up to 10 euros per liter from autumn”

2023-08-15 19:00:26

Is the Mediterranean diet in danger?

The drought and the forecast of a poor harvest will raise the price in the coming months

Baeza The olive harvest will also suffer this year due to the lack of rain. When there are rains in the spring, the olive trees bloom, and from each fertilized flower an olive is born. This year has been a very dry year; therefore, of little flowering in the olive trees, and, consequently, of little olive. “We will have a year of record prices with the price of the liter of olive oil”, says Paco González, producer of Guadalimar olive oils, in Jaén, who assures that “if right now the liter of olive oil it costs almost €8, from the autumn it will climb up to €10”. The name of the olive oil producer, Guadalimar, refers to one of the most important tributaries of the Guadalquivir river, and includes three projects, agriculture, with olive fields; the factory, with production from its own olives and also from others, bought ones, and the packaging, dedicated to the packaging of its own oil and also that of other brands, both from Andalusia and Catalonia , Italy and the Basque Country. In fact, the province of Jaén produces 50% of the olive oil consumed in Spain.

Olive oil will soon become, if not already, a scarce commodity; there will be a lot of demand and little supply in a very short time”

In Catalonia, the producer Quico Bargalló, of Olis Bargalló, agrees, and explains that “the next campaign will be very short, because the heat has burnt a lot of the flowers of the olive trees”. For his part, Antoni Galceran, president of the protected designation of origin (PDO) Siurana, believes that in August “it is too early to make more or less reliable estimates”, and we will have to wait until mid-September.

Picual or arbequina?

The olive harvest usually begins between the end of October and the whole month of November, which is the harvest for the so-called early harvest olive oils, which are the most prized, both for aromas and tastes and for the nutritional contributions to the body, which are considered more important than in the other varieties. From here, it is also necessary to distinguish between the varieties of olives, and also between the three existing classifications of olive oils. Regarding the varieties, the picual and the arbequina are two of those with a lot of tradition: the picual, especially in Andalusia, and the arbequina, in Catalonia. “The arbequina is sweeter, and we, in Jaén, also have it planted, because it has an outlet for dishes that seek that the oil does not stand out so much over the other products”, says Paco González. On the other hand, Picual is the most loved variety in Andalusia, with a strong personality of taste, reminiscent of herbs like the leaves of the olive tree themselves. To a slice of bread with tomato, the picual could add much more flavor than an arbequina, but in this case it is already a matter of personal taste.

In addition to varieties, there are other important classifications with olive oils. One is the indication of how the oil was extracted. If it has been made with a cold extraction or first cold pressing, it means that no heat has been applied that has exceeded 27 °C. And still another classification is if the olives are from agriculture with ecological certification, which will mean that the same agricultural techniques as those used in conventional agriculture have not been applied, where the use of some insecticides and herbicides.

Finally, the producer of olive oils from Guadalimar, Paco González, points out that olive oil will soon become, if not already, a scarce commodity; there will be a lot of demand and little supply in a very short time. “This next harvest will be very short; 50% less will be collected than in previous years”, and if there are no changes with the weather, everything points to the reduction becoming the norm.