With the adjustment of the rates, the olive oil companies have been "vampired" by the energy companies.

The liberalization of energy tariffs implemented by the government of Javier Milei generated a substantial increase in the production costs of olive-growing companies in the region. The 2024/25 olive campaign was marked by low or negative gross margins due to a sharp increase in direct expenses combined with a significant drop in yields per hectare. This is indicated by a report published by the CREA Valles Cordilleranos region, which is based on the situation of the fifteen olive-growing companies that make up the CREA Arauco and Olivícola San Juan groups. The olive groves are located in the provinces of San Juan, La Rioja, Catamarca, Córdoba, and Mendoza, and work around 2,500 hectares of olive trees dedicated to producing both oil and table olives. Although the prices of table olives continued to rise in the last campaign, this trend could not be sustained in the case of olives intended for oil production. "An average increase of 19% in direct expenses per hectare was recorded ...