Climate changes, but also international competition and price competition, duties that do not facilitate the harmonization of markets and the need to improve the visibility and recognizability of olive oil on the different markets. These are the challenges that the olive oil sector must face, according to María Juárez, head of the Economy and Promotion Unit of the International Olive Council (IOC), after a 2023 characterized by a significant drop in production and a consequent marked rebound in prices and «with the forecast also for the current campaign of a 6% cut in production, caused by the concomitance of several factors: asynchronous flowering periods, early harvests due to the advent of some pathologies such as Xylella fastidiosa and phases of drought».
The changing climate and the influence on the markets is one of the topics addressed at the inaugural conference «The new geography of world oil, between production and consumption», moderated by the journalist Michele Bungaro, of the 28th edition of SOL, International Olive Oil Trade Show, during which it was the partnership between Veronafiere and the Fundacion de Olivar has been announcedan international observatory for monitoring oil production and prices and which constitutes a point of reference for the sector.
«This partnership between Italy and Spain – declared Raul Barbieri, commercial director of Veronafiere – will not only strengthen the ties between two nations that have always been at the heart of the olive industry, but will open up new opportunities for growth and development on an international scale. Increasingly SOL represents an extraordinary opportunity to share knowledge, experiences and innovative ideas that will allow us to successfully face future challenges and thrive as an industry. And Veronafiere is working hard to give new projects to this event.”
After twenty years of continuous growth, with global olive oil production rising from 1.8 million tonnes in 1992/93 to 3.4 million tonnes in the 2010/2011 olive oil campaign, according to COI data, Production fluctuations have become the norm with five olive oil campaigns in the last ten years at 2.4-2.5 million tonnes and just as many well above 3 million tonnes. The trend in consumption, however, is more linear, having doubled in thirty years and gone from 1.6 million tonnes to 3 million tonnes in the world.
Global economic uncertainty also has an impact on the olive industry, «in particular regarding the need to invest in sustainable technologies and practices and the need to anticipate possible increases in the prices of agricultural inputs, all in a context of growing competition market in which other non-typical producing countries such as South America and Australia are expanding their olive oil production”, specified María Juárez of the COI.
Italy can look to the future scenario with optimism, also because, argued Rossella Cernuto, Senior Analytics Executive of NielsenIQ, “national extra virgin olive oil is indispensable on Italian tables”. As, if consumption of the extra virgin olive category is decreasing (went from 161 million liters in 2022 to 146 million in 2023 according to NielsenIQ data), national extra virgin olive oil is growing by 4%, so much so that half of the supermarket shelves are now dedicated to 100% Italian oil. A trend that began in 2016 and is still continuing.
«It will be essential to talk to young people – continued Cernuto of NielsenIQ -. Consumption of extra virgin olive oil, in fact, in families aged up to 44 years is decreasing, and producers should work to conquer the younger groups, also leveraging micro-territoriality with targeted activities on the territory and by target consumers”.
Italy, in an increasingly competitive context, cannot remain isolated, but rather must open up and collaborate with the different oil worlds. Hence the alliance signed by Veronafiere and Fundacion de Olivar, for an improvement in know-how. «I have no difficulty in admitting that Italy is the leader in oil quality, just as Spain is today the production and commercial leader. The two countries must face the challenges of the coming years together, enhancing their respective strengths and proposing themselves together on international markets and in contexts where the future of the sector is decided – said Javier Olmedo Hernandez, director of the Fundacion de Olivar -. Also because there are some critical elements that are common, such as the lack of specialized manpower, an aspect that concerns Italy, Spain and Portugal. The partnership between Fundacion de Olivar and Veronafiere opens a new model of Spain-Italy relations which we hope will bear fruitful results».
New Verona «City of oil». At the end of the inaugural conference of the 28th edition of SOL, scheduled at Veronafiere until Wednesday, the president of the national association of the Cities of Oil, Michele Sonnessa, welcomed the Municipality of Verona among the members, handing over the flag to the mayor of Verona, Damiano Tommasi. Among those present at the ceremony were the director of Veronafiere Raul Barbieri, the councilor for Commerce Italo Sandrini, the councilor delegate for Agriculture Pietro Trincanato, the president of District 2 of the Municipality of Verona, Elisa Dalle Pezze.
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