The Spanish olive oil sector has experienced a complicated and complex year. With good and bad news. The worst, which have been going on for many months, have to do with the increase in production costs, firstly due to the logistics crisis and, which forced prices to rise. A situation that, far from being mitigated, has worsened even more since the beginning of the year.
As if that were not enough, this by Russia, to which he joined, which even caused problems of shortages. A sort of perfect storm that has caused olive oil to become one of the products that has pushed the most upwards
It should also be borne in mind that it is a sector that, despite being the world leader in production, has important brakes that hinder its efficiency. points out that the atomization of crops and their low technification reduces crop yields and triggers costs. In addition, it hampers the negotiating capacity of producers to set prices and position themselves at a commercial level.
The analysis of the financial entity indicates, among other things, that almost half of the olive grove in Spain is traditionally mechanizable, which makes it yield half, and that the cost of production can double. Only 3% is super intensive.
80% of the olive oil produced is exported
Spain therefore has almost 340 million olive trees, which makes it the world leader in surface area, production, marketing and export of olive products, both olives and, above all, oil.
Almost 80% of the oil produced is destined for the international market, which translates into more than one million tons in the last campaign. It ranks third among agri-food exports, only surpassed by pork and citrus.
The additional problem for the sector is that, despite this world leadership in exports, both in volume and value, there is no correlation. While almost , the great rival, the distance in terms of value is considerably reduced. This is due to the fact that a large part of Spanish sales is made in bulk, with less added value, which means that average Italian prices are much higher.
It is the case, in fact, that Italy and other countries bottle Spanish bulk oil, and sell it under their brands, at a higher price. There they have the key to increase the value of exports, even more so taking into account the high quality of national liquid gold, through superior brand positioning and an adequate marketing strategy.
The best olive oil in Spain is made in Albacete
But, we insist, the quality of the Spanish product is indisputable. And to recognize it, the Ministry of Agriculture organizes each year the .
And the winner this campaign as the best oil is one of organic production from Agropecuaria Ecológica Sierra de Alcaraz, located in Alcaraz, Albacete. They define it as a very intense fruitiness of green olives, with hints of green olive leaves and other aromatic herbs. This same oil mill, specifically with O’Oleum on the greenway, has also been recognized as the best in the ‘Frutado Verde Amargo’ category.
For its part, the Oleo Subbética oil, belonging to the Priego de Córdoba Protected Designation of Origin and presented by Marín Serrano el Lagar, from Carcabuey (Córdoba) was the winner in the sweet green fruity category. While in the mature fruity category, the award went to Castelanotti oil, from Agrodelpa, from Córdoba.
With this contest, the Ministry tries to revalue and promote the highest quality Spanish oils, highlighting their excellence.
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