Coinciding with the start of the green olive campaign in the province of Seville, Asaja gathered the olive sector this Tuesday for its traditional Table Olive Day, which is now in its 44th edition. The meeting, held at the Círculo Cultural Unión Olivarense (Olivares) with the financial support of the Diputación de Sevilla and the collaboration of the Fundación Caja Rural del Sur, the host entity, and Asegasa, brought together more than a hundred professionals to analyze the current situation of table olives at the start of the harvest.
According to Asaja's forecasts, the green olive campaign will not exceed 460,000 tons. The head of the table olive sector of the agricultural organization, José Pedro Guzmán, was responsible for breaking down the campaign data, which started with very positive expectations after four consecutive years of drought.
The abundant rains of the last hydrological year, the good vegetative state of the farms, an adequate setting of the fruit, and moderate temperatures in August allowed reaching September with olives in "excellent conditions of development and size," which suggested a high and high-quality production.
However, the first estimate released by Interaceituna, which calculated a production of 638,000 tons, had an immediate effect on price formation. Based on these figures, the first purchase tables began to be published, "reflecting a significant depreciation of prices compared to the previous campaign."
A drop that, in Guzmán's words, "finds no justification in the real market situation or in the campaign balances, since we start from very tight market resources to cover the national and international market, with an initial stock of 360,000 tons." The technician from Asaja-Sevilla explained that, since September 2, the field suffered a "radical turn" due to an intense heat wave, with maximums between 40 and 44 degrees and minimums between 29 and 32 degrees.
This episode of extreme temperatures caused an accelerated loss of moisture in the olive grove, leaving dehydrated trees and wrinkled and withered fruit. The deterioration of the olives forced a downward correction of the initial estimate and "made it evident that the estimates made at the beginning of the campaign no longer reflected the existing agronomic reality in the farms."
In this scenario, the latest calculations from Asaja-Sevilla lower the production to 459,000 tons, "a reduction close to 28% compared to the initial forecasts, losses that could increase if the current weather conditions continue over the next few weeks, as was warned this Tuesday during the day." Of that volume, 128,000 tons would be manzanilla, with a drop of 40% from the first estimate; 30,000 tons of gordal, 8% less than initially estimated, and 221,000 tons of hojiblanca, with a cut of 22%.
Prices below production costs
Despite this notable reduction in the harvest and the lack of sufficient commercial calibers in the field, Asaja-Sevilla denounces that the prices offered not only have not risen, but in many cases are below the average production costs. This is evident from the cost study of table olive cultivation published by AEMO on September 10, which warns that certain commercial practices could violate the principles of the Food Chain Law.
This situation is compounded by the strict caliber requirements from buyers, so that when the batches do not reach the minimum required size, they are sent to the oil mill at a price of 0.25 euro/kg, according to the price lists, "half of what it costs to harvest it, which causes losses for farmers," emphasized Guzmán.