Olive Oil Producers In 'Crisis' From Weather, Pests And Disease
There's been a dramatic drop in oil production, but it's not barrels of light sweet crude. It's olive oil.
Curtis Cord, publisher of the Olive Oil Times, tells Audie Cornish on All Things Considered there are many reasons why production has fallen so much in Italy and Spain this year.
"What we have is bad weather at the wrong times; we have olive fruit fly, which is having a heyday out there. And in the heel of the boot in Apulia, Italy, you even have a bacteria called Xylella Fastidiosa, which came out of nowhere and destroyed almost 1 million trees," Cord says.
Cord says this means global production will slip about 17 percent from 3.2 million tons in 2013 to 2.4 million tons in 2014. That's about 400,000 tons less than the world needs, he says.
The price of extra virgin olive oil, meanwhile, has risen rapidly, according to a report released Monday by the International Olive Council. If bought directly from a producer, 1 pound of Italian oil fetched $3.27 at the end of November, up 121 percent from November 2013. You'll see that increase in price at your local food retailer, Cord says.
"You'll likely find plenty of Italian olive oil at your store now because oils from this year's shortfall would not typically reach retailers in the first quarter of next year anyway," he says. "So while they might be halfway through their shelf-life, they're still fine to use."
Cord notes that millions of people work in the olive oil industry in Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Morocco and Tunisia. "So this has a profound, profound effect on families and producers in these regions, so it is a crisis," he says. "That's one of the unfortunate parts of producing olives and olive oil. It's cyclical; you're going to have bad years and good years."
But Cord calls the current situation "particularly painful."
9(MDE1MTIxMDg0MDE0MDQ3NTY3MzkzMzY1NA001))
Transcript
AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:
We're going to talk next about the dramatic drop in oil production, and not barrels of light sweet crude - olive oil. Global olive oil production has fallen this year. Here to explain what's happening and what it could mean for your dinner is Curtis Cord. He's publisher of Olive Oil Times, which tracks the industry. Welcome to the program.
CURTIS CORD: Happy to be here.
CORNISH: I want to focus on two big countries who are the largest producers, Spain and Italy. What's behind the drop there?
CORD: Well, comes down to Mother Nature, and what we have is bad weather at the wrong times. We have the olive fruit fly, which is having a heyday out there and you also - in the heel of the boot in Apulia, Italy, you even have a bacteria called Xylella Fastidiosa, which came out of nowhere and destroyed almost a million trees.
CORNISH: A million trees. So give us a sense of how serious a decrease this has been, in terms of production.
CORD: Well, you're going to see a global production slip from 3.2 million tons last year, it's going to be about a 27 percent drop to 2.4 million tons this year. Which will be 400,000 tons less than the world needs.
CORNISH: Italian olive oil in particular is already pretty expensive. What does all this mean for the price?
CORD: Well, today the price of extra virgin olive oil bought directly from the producer in Spain or Italy is just under 6 euros, according to a report published today by the International Olive Counsel. Last month it was about 4 euros and last year it was under three. So you can see where that would translate to the bottles you see at your local retailer. And also, you'll likely find plenty of Italian olive oil at your store now because oils from this year's shortfall would not typically reach retailers until the first quarter of next year anyway. So while they might be halfway through their shelf life, they're still fine to use.
CORNISH: Give us a sense of how big of a deal this is for the economies of these countries, right? These are already countries that were struggling.
CORD: Millions of people work in the olive oil industry in Spain and in Italy, Greece, Portugal and North African countries like Morocco and Tunisia, so this has a profound, profound effect on families and producers in these regions. So it is a crisis. And that's one of the unfortunate parts of producing olives and producing olive oil. It's cyclical. You're going to have bad years and you're going to have good years, and what we have here this year, though, is a particularly painful situation for a lot of people.
CORNISH: That's Curtis Cord. He's the publisher of Olive Oil Times.
Thanks so much for speaking with us.
CORD: You're very welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad