The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, emphasized this Thursday, regarding the sale process of Deóleo, that "the situation is quite clear," since the company "has an industrial center located in the province of Córdoba, which is the most important," and considers that "it is very important to preserve and, if possible, enhance the current production structures of Deóleo," in addition to "guaranteeing the supply security of all producers and olive growers, who deliver their product."
In an appearance before the media in Córdoba, on the occasion of the XII Ibero-American Conference of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries, Planas indicated that "for each possible or potential buyer, the consequences are different in many ways, for example, regarding supply or the industry."
At this point, he stressed that "Deóleo does not have its own production, but acquires from cooperatives and farms, from individual producers," so, in his opinion, "it is very important to ensure that supply."
Planas specified that they are "closely monitoring" the development of the operation, which "still has weeks to go," and reiterated that he is "very cautious" in his statements, as he does not wish to "interfere in this process," although at the same time they are monitoring it "very closely."
In any case, the head of Agriculture has insisted that the priorities are to "maintain and develop industrial production and to uphold the interests of the producers."
He recalled that this is "a private operation, because Deóleo is owned by two British investment funds that have decided to sell Deóleo, and there are indeed several groups, both Spanish and non-Spanish, interested in the acquisition."
In this regard, he explained that "the conditions will depend on the quantities handled in this buy-sell, but also on the regulatory conditions, that is, on the respect for the competition conditions in the markets where Deóleo is present," an aspect he has described as "really very important."
Therefore, he reiterated that "he would prefer the buyer to be a Spanish group, but all of this depends on the conditions under which this buy-sell is carried out."
Debate on the olive oil quota
Regarding the olive oil estimate and the request from the Agrarian Association Young Farmers (Asaja) of Córdoba to the Junta de Andalucía to postpone the presentation of the estimate for the 2026/27 campaign, due to the lack of rain and the high temperatures that the olive grove is experiencing these weeks, Planas has stated that he respects Asaja's position, although he referred to "a misunderstanding."
He specified that "two circumstances come together," referring, on one hand, to the "estimate carried out by the autonomous communities," whose presentation by the Ministry of Agriculture is scheduled for September 29, and he recalled that Andalucía concentrates "three-quarters of the production of Spain." On the other hand, he added that "at the beginning of October, as soon as possible, the national estimate of Spain for the 2026-2027 campaign will be made public."
In this regard, he emphasized that "it is a legal obligation that must be fulfilled." In his opinion, "Asaja's assessment is correct in the sense that this is a forecast," so that "when economic forecasts are made, it does not mean that the forecast will happen exactly."
The minister added that "if there were climatic variation throughout the autumn that could be in the form of rain, and therefore, greater fattening and production capacity, or not, all of that will be seen and, as always, the estimates of the estimate will be adjusted." Nevertheless, he stressed that "the estimate must be made under the conditions that exist, both the Junta de Andalucía and the Government of Spain, and it will subsequently be adjusted during the development of the campaign."