Climate Turbulence Deals Costly Blow to Olive Oil Yield

Attention all those cooks who cannot produce a meal without adding a splash or drizzle of olive oil.  The price of your favorite culinary ingredient is rising fast – driven in large part by changes in climate.

Spain accounts for nearly 50% of total world olive oil production, but an unusually warm spring this year caused damage to olive trees during their flowering period.  Then a prolonged drought hit many regions − including the southern province of Andalucía, which produces 70% of Spain’s crop.  As a result, this year’s harvest is predicted to be half that of 2013.

In Italy, which has 15% of world production, a mild winter and warm spring was followed in summer by cloudbursts of torrential rain in many areas.  Farmers and processors are describing 2014 as the worst year for olive oil production in living memory, with overall yields down by nearly 40%.

Trees blighted
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Olive farmers in southern France, northern Africa and other olive oil producing regions round the Mediterranean Basin have faced similar problems.

Producers are now predicting a big hike in olive oil prices worldwide − in some markets, prices have gone up by 30%.

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