Spain’s leading daily El País reports estimated growing olive oil crops for the forthcoming harvest, which will start in December.

In Andalucia a growth by 25% over 2008 is expected, mainly thanks to the abundant rains this year. Concretely, according to the first estimates made public yesterday by the Ministry of Agriculture, olive oil production will amount 1,038,700 tons, a figure that is 22% above the average of the last five seasons. Almost half of that production will come from the province of Jaén (530,000 tons).

In Castilla-La Mancha too producing cooperatives expect the 2009/2010 olive oil crop to grow by 28.7% over the previous, with a production of approximately 94,000 tons, compared to 73,094 last year.

Low prices
Olive growers in Jaen province have been experiencing very hard financial problems this year, even reported by British paper BBC, with prices falling by 24.2% to the record minimum level of 1.75 euros a kilo. The worst month was in May when the price dropped to just 1.60 euros. Farmers are angry at supermarkets for selling cheap olive oil.

In recent months they have recovered and are already listed to 2.49 euros per kilo, though growers say that is because it is the end of the season and stocks are now very low.

Andalusia’s minister of Agriculture, Clara Aguilera said that "there is no reason why there should be tension on the market." She was referring to the sharp fall in prices at the beginning of last season, which she believes were due to “external distortions " rather than consumption. She has also urged again growers to work for the concentration of supply, “to sell better”, she said. Andalusia still exports nearly 80% of its bulk olive oil to Italy.