Rains devastate Brazilian olive oil cultivation; farmers add losses

The unusual storms that hit Rio Grande do Sul in recent months devastated businessman Marcelo Costi's olive tree plantation. He owns an olive oil brand in Caçapava do Sul, one of the main vegetable oil producing regions in Brazil. Too much rain harms the harvest Rain has a negative impact on production. Costi calculates that the heavy rains from September to November were responsible for the loss of more than 90% of the next harvest, which will take place from February to April. "I should harvest, being optimistic, about 100 liters. I've had losses caused by drought in previous years, but nothing comes close to what the rain did now", says the businessman, who last season filled 4,000 liters of the product. One of the villains of Brazilian inflation in 2023, olive oil is more expensive for consumers. This is because countries like Spain, the world leader in the production of the delicacy, have been punished by the lack of rain that has dried out the olive growing fields. In ...