Spain’s Food Information and Control Agency (AICA) said that the country will only produce one million tons of olive oil from the 2019 harvest.
The data from AICA, which was analyzed by the Coordinator of Agriculture and Livestock Organizations (COAG) in Jaén, show that by the end of January, 997,400 tons of oil had been produced in the country.
This final figure is 20 percent below the previous harvest estimate of 1.25 million tons from October and far closer to the original harvest estimate given by Andalusia’s Olive Oil Sector Council of Agri-food Cooperatives in August.
Poor weather in parts of Spain during the winter months has been blamed for the lower-than-expected production.
It remains to be seen whether this will have any impact on olive oil prices. Some expect that a silver lining of the decreased production may be a slight rebound in prices as less olive oil will be available on the market.
However, Juan Luis Ávila, the secretary-general of COAG Jaén, said that if the new situation does not lead to price increases, the only solution for producers will be to increase the intensity and frequency of protests like the recent demonstration COAG organized in Madrid to call for more government support for farmers in the region hit by the low market prices.