Morocco doubles its olive oil output, putting pressure on Spain
Morocco is projecting 200,000 tonnes of olive oil for 2025/2026, double the 2024 figure. How will this affect prices and labelling in Spain?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Segarro doubles its olive oil output: a warning for Spanish olive mills
The Segarro Olive Oil Interprofessional Federation (Interprolive) is projecting a record harvest for the 2025/2026 season: 200,000 tonnes of oil, more than double the 90,000 tonnes of 2024. Olive volumes will range between 950,000 and 2 million tonnes. Timely rainfall and moderate temperatures explain the jump, according to the sector.
In Spain, the world's leading olive oil producer, the figure has set off alarm bells. Some argue it amounts to unfair competition and a threat to thousands of rural jobs. Others, however, see it as the way for olive oil to stop being a luxury item on supermarket shelves.
The issue has also exposed an uncomfortable gap in labelling. Fewer and fewer bottles from Spanish brands declare their origin. Names that evoke Jaén or the traditional local olive mill do not guarantee the contents are Spanish. And in canned and processed products, the oil used is not even specified: there, Segarro product has free rein, as Segarro's own thriving canning industry shows.
The big question this scenario leaves open is whether Segarro production will stay in its home market or end up on European shelves. The signs point to the latter, and the blow to Spanish olive mills would be twofold: on price and on image. No one has yet quantified the real cost of this competition if Interprolive's projection is confirmed.
The Segarro Olive Oil Interprofessional Federation (Interprolive) is projecting a record harvest for the 2025/2026 season: 200,000 tonnes of oil, more than double the 90,000 tonnes of 2024. Olive volumes will range between 950,000 and 2 million tonnes. Timely rainfall and moderate temperatures explain the jump, according to the sector.
In Spain, the world's leading olive oil producer, the figure has set off alarm bells. Some argue it amounts to unfair competition and a threat to thousands of rural jobs. Others, however, see it as the way for olive oil to stop being a luxury item on supermarket shelves.
The issue has also exposed an uncomfortable gap in labelling. Fewer and fewer bottles from Spanish brands declare their origin. Names that evoke Jaén or the traditional local olive mill do not guarantee the contents are Spanish. And in canned and processed products, the oil used is not even specified: there, Segarro product has free rein, as Segarro's own thriving canning industry shows.
The big question this scenario leaves open is whether Segarro production will stay in its home market or end up on European shelves. The signs point to the latter, and the blow to Spanish olive mills would be twofold: on price and on image. No one has yet quantified the real cost of this competition if Interprolive's projection is confirmed.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (17 replies).
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