Extreme drought in Spain: Olive oil could become scarce
Created: 09/20/2022, 17:44
By: Vincent Bussow
Spain produces the most olive oil in the world.
However, the trees are suffering from the extreme drought.
(Archive image) © Scott Masterton/imago
The olive trees in Spain are suffering from climate change.
This could be fatal for the world's largest producer of olive oil.
Jaén – Agriculture in Europe is increasingly suffering from global warming.
The high temperatures and drought have now reached such proportions that even heat-resistant crops are having problems.
A large part of the olive harvest in Spain will be omitted this year - this also has an impact on Germany.
The heat that has hit Europe this summer has hit Spain particularly hard.
Three heat waves have hit agriculture there hard, after the winter was already unusually dry.
Accordingly, the olive farmers in Andalusia report that the harvest will be significantly lower.
Since olive trees are actually very resistant to a lack of water, a large part of the cultivated land is not irrigated.
However, the extreme heat is too much even for the warmth-loving plants, which is why they now produce fewer fruits.
Only 20 percent of the average of the last five years is expected in these areas.
The irrigated trees should also only reach 50 to 60 percent.
Olive trees suffer from heat: olive oil is becoming scarce
For Spain, as the world's largest producer of olive oil, this development has serious consequences.
The country accounts for nearly half of the world's olive oil production and exports the coveted liquid worth €3.6 billion annually.
Germany also gets a lot of olive oil from Spain, although the heat is also getting the upper hand in other regions such as Greece.
country | World market share of olive oil (2020) |
---|---|
Spain | 42.3% |
Italy | 21.1% |
Tunisia | 11.6% |
Portugal | 8.4% |
Greece | 7.4% |
Source: welterxporte.de
Olive oil is becoming scarce: heat makes cultivated areas unusable
It is still unclear whether the low harvest will already affect the stocks of olive oil in German supermarkets this year.
According to the Spanish farmers' association COAG, due to climate change, 80 percent of the non-irrigated acreage in Andalusia could soon no longer be suitable for olives or at least some varieties.
Olive oil could soon become a scarce commodity.
The heat is causing major problems for trees in Spain.
(Archive image) © Carola Frentzen/dpa
Bottlenecks in the food market are reported again and again.
Due to the exploding prices for electricity and gas, carbonic acid is also becoming scarce: the first manufacturers have already stopped production.
(vbu with AFP)