Olive grove production next season will exceed one million tonnes of olive oil (1,050,300 tonnes) and 5.25 million tonnes of olives for milling in 2021-2022. In the case of oil, this quantity represents a reduction of 5.5% compared to 2020-2021 and a decrease of 4.5% compared to the average of the last five seasons. This was announced by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Sustainable Development of the Government of Andalusia, Carmen Crespo in Expoliva.
On the other hand, the Andalusian Autonomous Community will reach 438,700 tonnes of table olives next season, a figure that represents a drop of 9.7% compared to last year and 7.6% compared to the average of the last five years.
Specifically, international sales of this Andalusian foodstuff have reached 1.5 billion euros and, as the Regional Minister highlighted, exports of extra virgin olive oil, in particular, have risen by 12 percent to reach 943 million euros. In addition, Andalusia is also the leader in table olive exports, which in 2020 were close to 280,000 tonnes with a value of 400 million euros.
Olive oil consumption in Spain has risen by 16% in 2020 to almost 412,680 tonnes valued at 1,215 million euros. In particular, extra virgin olive oil has registered, as the minister pointed out, “the most significant increase”, as it has risen by 18.8% compared to 2019. In the case of Andalusia, the almost 73,800 tonnes of olive oil (214 million euros) consumed last year have meant an increase of 15.4% compared to 2019; and the purchase of extra virgin olive oil has grown by 16.5%.
About table olives, consumption grew by 18.5% in Spain in 2020, reaching 132,775 tonnes (396 million euros), and rose by 24% in Andalusia, where more than 50,840 tonnes were consumed, valued at 58.8 million euros (15.7% of the national total).
The Andalusian olive grove area amounts to 1.6 million hectares and is mainly dedicated to the production of olives for oil mills (1.5 million hectares), since only 6% (98,700 hectares) is used for table olives.
The province of Jaén concentrates the largest extension of olive groves whose fruits are destined for milling (nearly 588,000 hectares, representing 38% of the regional total); and the Seville territory is in the lead in terms of olive groves from which table olives are preferentially obtained (73,550 hectares, representing 75.5%). Concerning the industry, the Andalusian region has 852 oil mills and 252 active crushers for the 2021-2022 campaign.
