The oil sector is facing “the most important drought for 500 years

Although the headline sounds like something out of a catastrophic sci-fi movie, the experts referred by the Olive Oil Times this August agree in giving it validity. For example, Andrea Toreti, senior researcher at the European Drought Observatory, affirms that this year’s drought is even more severe than that of 2018, the worst in the last 500 years.

As the publication also recalls, the first two months of summer have seen very little significant rainfall in southern and central Europe. As a result, up to 47% of the surface area of the European Community is at risk of severe drought. In particular, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which account for 88% of Europe’s olive oil production, have been hit by heat waves throughout the summer, as well as by severe fires.

In the Spanish region of Extremadura, olive growers are expecting to experience the “worst harvest in their history“, with an expected 85% loss compared to last year’s production (27,000 tonnes, compared to 183,000 tonnes in 2020/2021). And the reservoirs in Andalusia, Spain’s main oil-producing region, are at 25% of capacity at the time of writing.

There are many interpretations of this sad news. On the one hand, the problem that farms in general, and olive producers in particular, will face next year: lower harvests, less income and fewer jobs generated. On the other hand, the expected increase in prices due to production shortages, which will add to the inflationary impact of the economy and will affect consumers’ pockets.

But, in perspective, perhaps the worst possible reading is that of climate change. Unfortunately, drought episodes in Europe are becoming more frequent and human activity is not helping to reverse the situation. The future of agricultural activity is becoming increasingly ambiguous. Despite this, at Ralda+Friends we will continue to work with optimism, believing that the values of proximity, tradition and quality can be a good remedy to the uncertainty.

Alfredo & Pierre RALDA