The olive growing season has started and the first estimates speak of a collapse in the national production of olives. A devastating drought never seen in the last 70 years which has put the olive groves under water stress, first damaging the flowering and then the gems, especially in those areas where it was not possible to intervene with emergency irrigation to quench the thirst and refresh the plants, has created the premises for a 30% drop in production, this means that Italian families have to say goodbye to almost 1 out of 3 bottles of Made in Italy extra virgin olive oil. In addition to this, several companies have had to limit extraordinary interventions due to the high costs of fuel, electricity, services and support products for soil nutrition.
Of course, quality remains intact, with Italy boasting the richest variety of oil varieties in the world.
They are 30 million olive trees to be saved in Italy abandoned due to climate change and the explosion of costs that also threaten the survival of that heritage of biodiversity and history represented by the centuries-old trees.
The Italy of quality boasts the highest European heritage of PDO (42) and PGI (7)
A culture preserved over the centuries that has led today Italy to be the queen of quality awards in Europe with its heritage of 42 PDO and 7 PGI olive oil crops, equal to 40% of EU certifications, while Spain and Greece chase our country at a distance with just 29 awards. An important fact is that more than half of the national production of PDO and PGI oils comes with the value of trades increased by +55% in the last five years, passing from 40 to 62 million euros.
However, 20% of the national heritage of 150 million olive trees in Italy is in a state of abandonment – is the alarm raised by Coldiretti and Unaprol – due to the effects of the war in Ukraine and international tensions which make investments in olive growing difficult. With the explosion of costs that have increased by up to 200% for olive farms, almost 1 in 10 (9%) work at a loss and are at risk of closure, according to Crea data.
To weigh, in particular direct and indirect price increases determined by energy ranging from +170% for fertilizers to +129% for diesel in the countryside while the glass costs over 30% more rCompared to last year, but there is also an increase of 35% for labels, 45% for cardboard, 60% for tin cans, up to 70% for plastic. Olive growers and millers are also forced to face the increase in electricity, the costs of which have increased fivefold.
A study of ultra-secular olive trees has been launched to identify elements useful for resilience to climate change
“To try to reverse the trend, Coldiretti and Unaprol have engaged in the recovery and maintenance of the olive groves of some of the most important Italian archaeological parks and in an attempt to save the plain of monumental olive trees from the Xylella bacterium which is destroying olive growing Puglia - explains Nicola Di Noia, oil manager of Coldiretti -. From the study of centuries-old plants such as the Beautiful Tree of Villa Adriana, through a project by Crea/Ofa, it will be possible to identify useful characteristics for resilience to climate change, for the productive behavior, for the versatility towards the needs of sustainable intensification of the cultivation of the olive tree and for improving the health characteristics of the products”.
"Centuries-old olive trees are custodians not only of history but also, probably, of elements that could help us to face the climate change we are experiencing in the best way possible, for this reason it is absolutely necessary to work to recover and make productive as many as possible these plants - says David Granieri, president of Unaprol - The goal is not only to enrich our wealth of knowledge, but also to reduce our dependence on foreign oil imports and therefore, with adequate investments, relaunch the production of Made in Italy extra virgin olive oil ".
