Ample rain and mild temperatures will see Greece boost its olive oil production this year and help it overtake Italy as the second-highest olive oil producer globally.
Reports by the leading olive oil publication, Olive Oil Times, claim that “after a moderate yield of 227,000 tons of olive oil last year, a significant increase in olive oil production is expected in Greece in the 2022/23 crop year.”
According to some estimates, the amount of olive oil produced nationally will likely be near or even exceed 300,000 tons, which would see Greece overtake Italy as the second-highest producing country of olive oil.
The news is not so good for Italy, where reports indicate the harvest could fall by as much as 120,000 tons, 37 percent, compared to last year.
Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, is also faced with dire forecasts, which predict an expected 30- to 50-percent drop in production. Yields are also expected to drop in Portugal and France.
According to Olive Oil Times, the cause of this dramatic decrease across Southern and Western Europe can be attributed to “the historic drought and high summer temperatures, which hindered the vegetative development of olive trees and the accumulation of oil in the fruits.”
The key olive oil production areas of Greece are the Peloponnese, which produces nearly 65 percent of all Greek oil, along with Crete and the Aegean and Ionian islands.
Although Greece may not produce the most oil, it is widely recognized for producing the highest quality olive oil, with Greek producers winning countless international awards each year.