World’s production in 2014-2015 is forecast to top 2.560.000 tonnes, although this will be around 19 per cent lower than in 2013/2014, it still is more than 6 per cent higher than in 2012/2013, according to the data of the International Oil Council. Among the EU countries picture is like that for olive oil with input forecast to be higher in Italy and Greece and to be lower in Spain and Portugal.
Trade in olive oil through the first ten months of the 2013/2014 crop year from October 2013 until June 2014 is reported a 14 per cent increase in intra EU acquisitions and a drop of 62 per cent in import from outside the EU. This fall in intra EU imports seems caused by Spain’s higher production. The movement in the prices paid to producers for extra virgin olive oil in the three top EU producer countries shows weekly changes in the producer’s prices for refined olive oil.
In Italy, in the recent months, producers prices have been on clear upward trend. In the last week of october they broke the four euro barrier and were lying at euro 4.10 kg equating with 37 per cent growth on a year earlier and 55 per cent growth if compared with the low recorded in the second week of December 2013 (2,64 kg).
According to Federolio, the Italian organization of producers, the prices will not further increase: they can also count on the reserves of last campaign that had reached the record of production, closed with large stock of unsold amount.
“We reiterate our readiness to engage in constructive synergies with the organization of producers”- commented Giovanni Zucchi, president of Assitol, the Italian association of olive oil industry – “because only in a united and strong working team you can be competitive and start growing again.”