The Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, sent a letter on Tuesday 26 May to the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Janusz Wojciechowski, requesting that he extend the private storage system for olive oil (see EUROPE 12435/10). Spain is hoping that olive oil prices will rise and that this measure will enable the sector to recover before the start of the next marketing year.
The Minister notes in the letter to the Commissioner that, at Spain's request, the European Commission had authorised the activation of this mechanism last October, which enabled 213,445 tonnes of olive oil to be stored, thereby encouraging the beginning of a price recovery in February on the European markets.
Now that the storage period for the first offers is coming to an end, Spain is of the opinion that it is necessary to authorise an extension to prevent the crisis in the sector from worsening.
According to the minister, olive oil prices are being affected by the effects of the pandemic. Moreover, American customs duties on Spanish olive oil exports have an impact on outlets and trade flows. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)