European Commission steps to protect saturated olive oil market
The European Commission has agreed to give storage aid to the private operators in the olive oil sector, which has been hit by price decreases after good harvests and high stocks across the European Union (EU).
Spanish, Greek and Portuguese markets have been particularly hit by low prices caused by good harvests. The price of Spanish and Greek extra virgin olive oil in mid-October were 33% and 13.5% below the five-year average respectively.
The exceptionally high stocks at EU level, estimated at 859 000 tonnes for 2018/19 (88% of which in Spain), combined with an average production expected for 2019/20 threatens to keep the EU olive oil market under pressure.
The private storage scheme will help alleviate the pressure and contribute to rebalance the market.
Phil Hogan, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development said: “In the past months, the olive oil market has been going through serious market imbalance and I’m proud to say that once again the Common Agricultural Policy is here to support our farmers and producers. Thanks to our market measures, the private storage aid adopted today will help stabilise the market and prevent further damages to the sector.”
The scheme will operate through a tendering procedure for a maximum of 4 periods to allow for flexibility and measured market management.
Pic: KMNPhoto