Unió de Pagesos predicts losses in the olive harvest in Catalonia of between 60% and 90% due to the drought. Rainfed crops are the most affected and represent about 80% of the sector.
In some areas such as Terra Alta and Ribera d'Ebre, Alt Camp, Penedès and Garrigues, losses can reach practically the entire harvest.
Farmers insist that the increase in consumer oil prices does not affect the producer, who has been charging olives for decades below the cost of growing them (between 0.30 and 0.50 euros per kilo).
"For the continuity of the sector, we could adapt a little so that cost prices do not fall below cost again," claimed Jordi Pascual, national head of the union's oil sector.
The expected losses in olive cultivation are very irregular depending on the infrastructure and circumstances that the drought has caused.
As Pascual has detailed, in areas with support irrigation that suffered restrictions on water concessions, such as in the Riudecanyes reservoir, production has fallen by 70% while other crops with irrigation will save about half of the harvest, such as is expected in Tarragonès.
In Catalonia, 80,979 hectares of rainfed olive trees and 23,126 hectares with supporting irrigation are cultivated, according to data from the Department of Climate Action that the union has transferred. In a normal campaign, about 33,000 tons of oil are produced. Last year production was just 16,000 tons of oil. According to Unió de Pagesos this year "they will not exceed 7,000."
The agricultural union demands aid for olive growers to face the losses caused by this serious drought, as has already been done with other crops such as cereals, nuts or sweet fruit.
Despite pointing out that the latest rainfall has "greened landscapes and olive trees", if it does not rain in the coming weeks and months, the following campaign may also be "compromised".
The serious crisis and lack of product has skyrocketed the price of oil and consequently the price of olives. While "for decades" it was paid below the cost of production, between 30 and 50 euro cents, this year it is expected that the farmer will be able to charge a kilo of olives at a price close to 1 euro. Exposed with other data, for the production of a liter of oil, about 4 euros were paid and this year it may rise to between 7 and 9 euros.
Producers warn that these data are far from generating profits or "enriching the farmer" because even if they charge more, there is no fruit to sell. Even so, the sector claims that this price is "the correct one" to be able to guarantee "the continuity of the sector" and demands consumer solidarity so that this supply and price crisis can be overcome. According to industry calculations, a person consumes an average of 10 liters of olive oil each year. If the price per liter has gone from 5 to 8 euros, this increase of 30 euros per year, or 3 euros per month, will, in general, be acceptable.
Farmers remember that it is the large distribution chains and large bottlers who speculate on the price of oil in the current context and that the producer and the cooperatives do not want to "scare" their customers. They also warn of the dangers of consuming "much cheaper alternatives" to olive oil if it does not offer guarantees of traceability and quality and demand strict controls on the product that may arrive from outside Spain.
