Estimated Olive Oil Production 2020/2021

Based on the indications received from the production world, ISMEA – Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market – estimates a total production of 255,000 tons of olive oil for the current Italian campaign, with a reduction of 30% compared to the previous one.                              

                                                                                          Italian production of pressurised olive oil – thousands of tons

Source ISMEA on AGEA data, declarations of production of the mills; 2020 ISMEA estimates as of November 17th 2020, in collaboration with UNAPROL.

The situation in the south of Italy weighs heavily on the overall result, as its production is affected by the physiological phenomenon of “Alternate Bearing”, considering the abundancy of last year.

An opposite situation should be noted in the centre-north, where abundant flowering was recorded, confirmed by the large number of fruits, although the oil yields are unfortunately well below average.

Overall, all areas are expected to produce a high-quality oil, following the favourable weather conditions and the limited number of olive fly attacks.

The situation in the south of Italy weighs heavily on the overall result, as its production is affected by the physiological phenomenon of “Alternate Bearing”, considering the abundancy of last year.

An opposite situation should be noted in the centre-north, where abundant flowering was recorded, confirmed by the large number of fruits, although the oil yields are unfortunately well below average.

Overall, all areas are expected to produce a high-quality oil, following the favourable weather conditions and the limited number of olive fly attacks.

In regards to other EU nations, the estimates of the International Olive Council (COI) foresee a physiological decline both in Greece (expected production: 265,000 tons, -3,6% compared to last year) and in Portugal (expected production: 100,000 tons, – 28% compared to last campaign).

On the other hand, a notable growth is expected in Spain, if not up to expectations due to low rainfall (expected production: 1.59 million tons, + 42% compared to last year), which largely offsets the decline in other European countries (expected EU production: +16%).

Outside of Europe, the overall result is expected to fall heavily due to almost halved production in Tunisia (expected production: 120,000 tons, – 65.7% compared to last year).

Worldwide, the International Olive Council (COI) predicts a production of 3.197 million tons, which is roughly the equivalent to what was produced in the previous campaign.

                                                                                           World production of pressurised olive oil – thousands of tons

Source I.O.C. - International Olive Council