The olive harvest and production of olive oil in the EU in 2017 have been good despite the spread of the Xylella fastidiosa disease, according to the latest estimates published on 7 November by Copa-Cogeca (farm organisations and cooperatives in the EU).
The production of olive oil grew in virtually all countries po9rducting it: Italy (+75% to 320 000 tonnes), Greece (+46 % to 285 000 t), Portugal (+58% to110 000 t) and France (+64 % to 5 000 t). Only Spain saw a fall, by 14% to 1.1 million tonnes due to drought. Spain is still, however, the world’s biggest olive oil producer.
The same trend is seen for table olives, with a 58% rise for France (1 260 t), 30% for Greece (235 000 t) and 20% for Italy (48 000 t). A 13% fall is expected in Spain (520 000 t). The world record for olive production was reached in 2016 (up 3% to 2.95 million tonnes). The accounts for 70% of world olive oil production and 32% for table olives.
Europ3an producers are, however, concerned about the spread of the Xylella fastidiosa olive disease, found in four member states (Italy, France, Spain and Germany) (EUROPE 11869). The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is holding a conference on Palma de Majorca on 13 – 15 November to discuss scientific progress and how to tackle the bacterium.