General view of an olive tree farm irrigated with a drip water system, as Tuscany's famed wine and olive oil industry suffers from a heatwave and drought, in Greve in Chianti, Italy, Jul 29, 2022. Italian agricultural production shrank last year as wine, fruit and olive oil output all took a hit from extreme weather events linked to climate change, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Tuesday .
Italian farms recorded a 3.9 per cent yearly drop in production volume in 2023, with woody crops such as vines, fruits and olives down 11.1 per cent, ISTAT said in a statement. Wine production fell more than 17 per cent to 2017 levels due to hot summer temperatures extending well into autumn, while olive oil makers in central regions saw output hurt by unseasonably cool and humid conditions during the spring blooming season.As summer approaches, drought in Italy's southern mainland and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia is already killing crops and livestock, farming lobby Coldiretti said in a statement last week.