Sales and olive oil prices go up a... - Launches Digital

J AND.
Ciudad Real

Although the olive collection campaign "will be short", olive producers will have a joy in the sale of olive oil at source, according to the latest sales data and the quotation of prices rising.

This horizon, the diagnosis made from organizations and unions agrarian match: at least will cover the costs of production, after several onerous campaigns.

And we are reminded that in the past two years the main stumbling block which has had to deal with the sector has been on the low prices, "which has not allowed them to have profitability".

In this way, the estimates are prudent by the "great fall of production", caused by the lack of rain, although prices in origin have not stopped to experience increases in recent weeks.
Throughout the summer, the entire chain of olive oils (Virgin, extras or lampantes) are quoted on the edge of EUR 2,5 per kilogram, a price that will have to pass the increase in VAT.

Sales

Also, in terms of sales, grew up in the first seven months of the year a 6.65% (217 million liters), according to the last balance sheet of the National Association of industrial Packers and refiners of edible oils (Anierac) presented a few days ago.
Bethlehem Valenzuela, responsible for communication of the North mountains group & Marketing, confirmed these data and noted that this entity in sales of bottled oil had grown "even more", between 7 and 8 per cent.

This rise collides with the descent planned for the campaign of olive, with an "uncertain" development, since assessments of members of the authority point to a decrease of 40 per cent, although "could reach even 60 percent" at some points. Indeed, the Group (comprising a score of olive-growing companies) collected 50 million kilograms in the previous campaign and of 2012-2013 could be 20 million.

On their side, the Secretary of organization of the Union of small farmers and ranchers (UPA), Ramon Saez, confirmed the trend of falling 50% olive oil production, i.e. of the 1.6 million tonnes achieved in this campaign (closed September 30), which is about to open will be 800,000 tons.
Also reported the increase in prices of oils in recent months, "with a weekly average of 7 per cent", and a performance of "good" within the meaning of the link campaign, because stocks that handle for October 1 are of 700,000 tonnes.

In this sense, Saez said that "with these forecasts of possible shortages, the industry and distribution have risen quite olive oil prices".

The spokesman for the sector of agro-food cooperatives in Castile - La Mancha, Gregorio Gómez, oil also corroborated this information but was less optimistic. "Don't want to say that although there is one of the largest campaign links, prices will offset the losses in production," he told Lance.

Tension on the markets

The President of the farmers cooperative in Valdepeñas (Colival), Gregorio López Lerma, predicted that the decline in the production of olives moves between 25 and 50 percent "depending on the areas".

"What we do know is that the harvest will be short," said, so "there will be tension in the markets in the coming months and rise in the price of oil"

Colival recorded last year more than eight million of kilos of olives, with "a high degree of performance", which allowed the production of 1.8 million kilograms of oil in the group.

He also noted that after recorded the fall in volume of olives in July, sales will grow in Spain and abroad by "the few stocks that will have over the months".

In this sense, the current campaign will end with sales of more than 1,400,000 tonnes, according to the Agency of the olive oil, which would be a historical record, and a link campaign of 700,000 tonnes.