Drought Slashes Global Olive Oil Production, Driving Prices Higher

Weather conditions have led to a drastic drop in olive oil production in some countries. On Monday, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture announced that Spain, the world’s largest producer and exporter, should produce around 750,000 tons of olive oil in the next season, which runs from October to January. While this figure is up from the 663,000 tons produced between 2022 and 2023, it is still half the annual average of 1,380,000 tons.

According to the International Olive Council, Greece and Italy are the second and third largest olive oil producers facing production problems. Portugal, Tunisia and Morocco’s olive oil production is also affected by the drought. In Morocco, olive oil production is expected to drop by up to 80% this year in the cultivated areas of El Kelâa des Sraghna, one of the main centers of this crop, compared to last year’s production, according to the orchardists.

As a result, olive oil prices are soaring due to the drought. In September, the global price of olive oil climbed to $8,900 per tonne, according to a report from the US Department of Agriculture. "In Spain, we are used to olive oil prices being lower than in the rest of the world," Jaime Lillo, deputy director of the International Olive Council, told Euronews.