Olive oil production in 2013/14 is expected to be 28% higher than in 2012/13, chiefly because of higher production in the EU producing countries as a whole (+62%).
Spain is the main driving force behind this EU growth, with output expected to reach 1 770 000 t (+187%). Production is also expected to go up by 52% in Portugal to reach 90 000 t. In Italy, on the other hand, it is provisionally assessed at 350 000 t, 16% less than in 2012/13, and in Greece it is expected to be no more than 135 000 t, down by 63% due to adverse climatic conditions.
Looking at consumption, the biggest increase is expected in the EU countries while the provisional figures for exports have inched slightly ahead of imports.
Between October 2013 and March 2014, the first six months of the 2013/14 crop year, trade in olive oil and olive pomace oil decreased overall by 7.7% in the seven countries listed below (Australia, Brasil, Canada, China, Japan, Russia, Usa), falling from 301 194.8 t to 277 886.6 t.
Individually, imports increased in Russia (+6%) and Japan (+2%) but decreased in China (-28%), Brazil (-12%), Australia (-9%), Canada (-8%) and the United States (-7%).
For the first five months of the season (October 2013–February 2014) report a 3% increase in intra-EU acquisitions and a drop of 34% in imports from outside the EU compared with the same period in the previous crop year.
