`Jordan's Olive Oil Yield Lower than Expected - Olive Oil Times

Jordan's Olive Oil Yield Lower than Expected

By Paolo DeAndreis
Jan. 17, 2023 14:58 UTC

Jordan’s olive har­vest is pro­ceed­ing quickly, and the over­all yield cur­rently exceeds 22 thou­sand tons.

According to Mahmoud Al-Omari, the local olive oil millers asso­ci­a­tion rep­re­sen­ta­tive, 90 per­cent of the olive har­vest has been com­pleted.

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A local spokesper­son for the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) told Jordan News that at the end of the year, over­all olive oil yield in the coun­try is expected to reach 24 thou­sand tons.

Such vol­umes allow Jordan to meet its own olive oil needs. International Olive Council (IOC) fig­ures show that in the 2021/2022 sea­son, Jordan’s national olive oil con­sump­tion reached 21 thou­sand tons. For the new sea­son, mod­est con­sump­tion growth is expected.

Still, olive oil pro­duc­tion fig­ures are sig­nif­i­cantly lower than expected. At the end of October, the Minister of Agriculture, Khaled Al-Hneifat, had esti­mated a 20 to 25 per­cent growth in olive oil pro­duc­tion with over­all vol­umes exceed­ing 30 thou­sand tons.

According to a Ministry spokesper­son, Lorance Majali, pro­fes­sion­als have now reduced their esti­mates to 28 thou­sand tons. The IOC states that an aver­age har­vest yield is 23.85 thou­sand tons.

In a note by Al-Rai news, Al-Omari noted that the oil vol­ume in the fruits was less than expected, thus affect­ing over­all olive oil yield.

He added that the high qual­ity of Jordan’s local extra vir­gin olive oil and its inter­na­tional rep­u­ta­tion sup­port sig­nif­i­cant exports, which are expected to grow this sea­son. In 2021/2022, the coun­try exported 4.5 thou­sand tons of olive oil.

According to local experts, the reduced yield is asso­ci­ated with the chal­leng­ing sea­son. In a Jordan Times report, local olive grow­ers lament the impact of excep­tional weather con­di­tions on rain­fed olive orchards.

Local farm­ers believe a lack of rain­fall dur­ing the olive ripen­ing stage might have halved their yield. Others under­line how exces­sive heat and heat waves added to the stress on olive trees.



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