‘Watch this space’ following Spanish industry shakeup

By Laura Thomas

A bumper harvest and corporate takeover are shaking things up in the olive capital of the world.

This week it was announced two of Spain’s largest olive oil producers had joined forces to acquire a majority stake the world’s largest olive oil bottler and retailer, Deoleo.

The acquisition is designed to strengthen the growth and consumption of olive oil across the world, according to an official company announcement.

Days later, the Spanish government ordered 12 percent of the nation’s supply be withheld from the market, in an unprecedented move designed to prevent oversupply and market fluctuation.

It follows a bumper harvest and more than 20% rise in production in Spain, which provides around half of global olive oil output.

So what, if anything, does this all mean for Australia?

According to industry data, Australians consume an average of 2 litres of extra virgin olive oil each per year.

And while the industry is continuing to expand, Australia produces just half of the olive oil it consumes.

The other half – around 30 to 40 million litres per year – is imported, predominantly from Spain.

As the largest olive oil producer in the world, Spanish olive oils are commonplace in local supermarkets and pantries across Australia.

This means factors affecting Spanish olive production can have a flow-on effect for the Australian industry, according to Australian Olive Association Chief Executive Officer Michael Southan.

“Australian consumers have an increasingly large appetite for premium Australian small batch extra virgin olive oil, but we only produce about half the oil required to satisfy domestic demand,” he said.

“The rest is imported, mostly from Spain, so we are always mindful of what is going on in these important global marketplaces.”

Mr Southan said it was difficult to determine what the flow-on effect might be for the Australian olive industry just yet.

“I am not sure that holding back some Spanish production will have too much of an impact on Australia, as the supermarkets control the EVOO price here.

“But it will help prevent a global oversupply and the flood of cheap imports.

“It’s all a case of `watch this space’, right now.”

Sources:
www.oliveoiltimes.com
www.dcoop.es
www.australianolives.com.au

Image: Olive groves in Sevilla, España. By Rodri Caruso on Unsplash.