Even an abundant harvest would not ward off olive oil shortage in Italy
Olive Oil
Italy
Published May 31, 2023
Tridge summary
The general director of Assitol blamed an imbalanced market on poor harvests across the Mediterranean and the strategies of large retailers.
Original content
Producers and officials have warned that Italy may run out of olive oil in the coming months. The country’s relatively low harvest and exceptionally poor harvests in Spain and across much of the Mediterranean have resulted in a severe shortage. “The unified public information system for the Italian agricultural market (SIAN) reported 96,000 tons of olive oil stored in Italy at the end of April,” Andrea Carrassi, general director of the Italian Association of the Edible Oil Industry (Assitol), told Olive Oil Times. “And monthly sales reach approximately 11,000 tons on average.” In this situation, the math is mercilessly simple. “Given that the new season will start between next October and November, we risk reaching that moment with less than 30,000 tons in stock,” Carrassi said. “If we were a car, our fuel tank light would already be flashing worryingly red.” International Olive Council (IOC) figures show that Italy has produced an average of about 275,000 tons of olive oil per ...
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