With Spain and other olive-oil-producing countries still experiencing dry conditions, American shoppers shouldn’t expect lower prices anytime soon.
His company, Almazara El Tendre, usually processes about 5 million kilos of olives. Last season, they didn’t get to 3 million kilos.Spain has been experiencing lower than normal rainfall since October. In April, the country reported the driest and warmest conditions for that month in Spain’s history. It only receivedof average precipitation, according to the country’s weather agency, or AEMET for its acronym in Spanish.
“If the situation continues to worsen, the crops that can be grown in areas such as ours will be further reduced,” Peláez said. To counter the expected hit to her business, she is introducing new products including pomace oil, a neutral-tasting oil produced from olive pulp, and wild olive oil. “Certainly, the situation is very worrying,” Ortega said.Spain’s olive oil production isn’t the only place that’s been impacted by weather.