Unprecedented increase in olive oil prices

it didn’t help rains To produce olive oil In the last season, this has led to an increase in its prices to an unprecedented level in Morocco, in a context characterized by an increase in inflation to 8.1%.
Olive oil prices have jumped after the harvest season, which occurred over the past two months, to more than $8 a liter, after being around $5 last season.

Drought kills the crop

Olive oil prices have not risen sooner than imported edible oils, but the decline in the olive harvest has helped send them to unprecedented levels over the past two months. The olive harvest season did not cover the months of October and November as usual, as the decline in the harvest influenced by the drought that hit Morocco last season led to a reduction in the harvest period.

In the last season, the olives were affected by the lack of rainfall and high temperatures, especially in the month of October, which did not see the autumn rains which contribute to the ripening of the olives and the increase in yield.

It has not yet disclosed the level of its harvest this season, but industry players confirm the decline is sharp, after being on the order of 1.96 million tonnes last season, when it saw an increase of around 20 percent from the previous season.

The high price of olives

65 percent of the olives are used for oil extraction, 25 percent for export and the rest for farmers’ own consumption.

Mohamed Belaid, a trader who traveled to Kalaat al-Sraghna province, which supplies about 15 percent of the production, to buy olive oil, confirms that the price of raw olives has risen from about 70 cents per kilogram lo last year to over a dollar this year.

Belaid explains to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that after buying the olives at the current price and pressing them in the conversion units available in the region, which have seen production drop by about half, the cost will be around $7.5 per liter .

The Federation of Olive Producers met with the Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, Mohamed Al-Siddiqi, to discuss the situation of the sector in the current year in the light of the drought, and also raised with the Minister some of the interventions in the market which damage the olive oil quality.

The Federation of Olive Producers confirms that some of the market operators do not comply with the specification, as they mix olive oil with table oil and sell it at a high price, deluding consumers that they have complied with the required production conditions .

market speculation

The producers complain about the unfair competition represented by intermediaries and speculators in the market, especially in light of the scarce supply, which deprives the industrial units that process the olives of the raw material. Between 80 and 90 percent of the oils sold to consumers are bulk oils, while the share of packaged oils varies between 10 and 20 percent.

The Federation of Olive Producers confirms that some of the operators involved in the market do not comply with the specification.

Agricultural technician Yassin Ait Uday told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that declining supply of olives and oil could lead to a relative reduction in exports, despite declining production in some Mediterranean countries, such as Spain .

Moroccan olive oil exports reach 30,000 tonnes, but Ait Oday notes that local prices are lucrative for producers this year in light of tight supply, which may prompt them to focus on the local market.

The consumption of olive oil in Morocco is considered low, as it does not exceed, according to a report by the Competition Council, 3 liters per year, noting that per capita consumption in Greece reaches 18 liters and in Italy 15 liters.