INNOLIVA, while endorsing most of the study prepared by the European Commission, disagrees on the prediction about the consumption of olive oil
Madrid, December 15, 2016.
The production of olive oil in the Iberian Peninsula should increase approximately 1% per year until the year 2026 (10% per year during the period), according to data published in a report prepared by the Directorate General of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Executive Community in collaboration with the Joint Research Center (JRC), in which an analysis is made of the current situation of the cultivation, consumption and marketing of olive oil at the community level and it is anticipated how these parameters could evolve in order to next decade
Although the economic crisis has taken its toll on the olive grove, irrigated areas in Spain are gradually recovering, although this progress could vary depending on the specific climatic conditions of each year.
Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece represent 99% of European production. which in turn accounts for two thirds of world production.
The evolution of the production of these countries during the last decade is characterized by a strong volatility caused precisely by the climatic variations, in particular by the drought, growing trend both in Spain and in Portugal, countries in which there is an increase of plantations of cultivation with systems of irrigation and a development of irrigated and intensive olive groves that substitute to the great traditional extensions. For its part, the production of Italy and Greece has suffered some stagnation.
INNOLIVA has more than 5,000 hectares and 9 million olive trees distributed between Spain and Portugal and since 2009 has a system that allowed to equip their fields with «intelligence» in the management of irrigation, applying new monitoring technologies in the response of the olive the water contributed. In this way, the company has managed to maintain the special care it gives its olive trees without squandering a good as scarce and precious as water, while being able to cope with the most difficult climatic conditions without affecting its production.
The production company based in Navarra currently has a production capacity of more than 10 million liters of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with 98% of the Arbequina variety and the remaining 2% of arbosana and koroneiki.
Regarding the evolution of consumption, the report indicates that there has been a regular decrease in the three main Member States throughout this last decade, mainly during the period when the financial crisis was most acute. The Commission’s forecasts point to a certain stabilization and slower decline in the years to come. However, Miguel Rico, president of INNOLIVA and expert in the sector, believes that the future is much more optimistic and that there are no real data to justify this prediction.
According to Rico, the consumption of olive oil, and especially if we focus on the category of extra virgin, far from decreasing, will increase in the coming years. «Liquid gold will remain the king of the Mediterranean diet and will have consumers in its favor,» he insists.
Regarding imports, the study points out that although they have fallen in the last decade, there should be a change in trend thanks to the implementation of investments in modern olive groves and the possible use of the active improvement regime.
Taking into account the increase in global demand for olive oil, according to Brussels, the packaging industry of the European Union should use strategies to position itself with its own brands, as well as in the Designations of Origin, thus allowing Community exports continue their strong upward trend (+ 60% in the last 10 years, + 45% over the next decade). And is that the growth in export, according to the report, will be very necessary to ensure a balance in the European olive sector.
In this sense, INNOLIVA carries out commendable work. Foreign sales are one of the strengths of the Spanish production company, which enjoys a strong presence in Europe and the US, which does not prevent it from continuing to strive every day to reach other places where the culture around The EVOO is not so ingrained.
About Innoliva
The company, which has its head office in Pamplona (Spain), owns more than 5,000 hectares of irrigated olive groves, located in Spain and Portugal, where the Mediterranean climate gives the olive tree the ideal environment for the development and maturation of the fruit; and it favors the obtaining of Extra Virgin Olive Oils with excellent sensory qualities.
With its production system, they guarantee the integral traceability of the entire process: from the olive tree to the final customer.
They make their Extra Virgin Olive Oil cold in the shortest time possible from the entrance of the olive in the oil mill. And they take care of the oil already produced to maintain their excellent sensory and healthy qualities as long as possible.
