Valencian olive growers and oil mills consider not harvesting due to the lack of olives due to the drought

They warn that production will collapse by 90%

VALENCIA, 16 Aug. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-Asaja) warns that regional production in the olive grove sector will plummet by around 90% compared to a normal harvest, "to such an extent that Valencian olive growers and oil mills are considering not even undertaking the harvesting, preparation and transport of olives".

This situation occurs in a year with olive oil prices skyrocketing to record highs, while olive growers in the Valencian Community barely have olives in their fields due to adverse weather conditions. According to estimates of

"In some interior regions of Valencia, such as Utiel-Requena, there is no harvest or there is so little that it will not be feasible to harvest it. The daily wages of the producers and mills could be worth more than the price obtained for such a small quantity. In the best of cases they could open oil mills for a few days to enter the production of those fields that do have enough, but we do not expect at all to benefit from the high prices that the oil market manages", warns the head of the AVA olive grove sector, Luis Julián Perez.

"In areas of Castellón such as La Plana Alta, Baix Maestrat and Alt Maestrat they could reach 15% of the usual production, in some cases just enough to cover expenses," says the olive grower and associate Carlos Pérez. "Hopefully the price is high because production costs have practically doubled in a year, between the increases in pruning, fertilization, fungicide treatments..."

The agrarian organization attributes this productive collapse to a series of inclement weather. First, the persistent rains during the spring months of April and May favored virulent attacks by repilo, a fungus that decimates leaves and weakens olive trees. Subsequently, the lack of rain and the successive heat waves throughout the summer intensified the fall of olives to the ground due to the water stress of the trees.

Faced with this situation, it insists on asking both the Government and the Generalitat for aid aimed at alleviating the serious production losses and the economic extra costs caused by the drought in affected agricultural sectors such as olive groves.