Spain’s drought-plagued olive oil crops seen from space
Spain is considered the world’s largest producer of olive oil and the biggest driver of the global market. The global olive oil market was valued at more than $14 billion in 2022.
No rain in Spain means skyrocketing olive oil prices
Severe drought and record heat last year drastically cut olive crop numbers. In the U.S., Madison Alworth, FOX Business Correspondent, talks to a local shop owner and finds out how much the dismal harvest will cost American consumers.
MADRID – New satellite imagery from NASA shows the impacts a significant drought has had on the vegetation in one of the leading olive oil-producing regions in the world.
The high-tech imagery released by the agency showed where green vegetation has turned brown in just about a year’s time.
According to Copernicus Climate Change Services, soil moisture across all of Europe in 2022 was at its second lowest in the last five decades and coinciding with the lack of rainfall was unseasonable heat.
The Andalusia region in southern Spain is a key area impacted by the drought. Industry experts consider the southern parts of the country to be one of the leading olive oil-producing regions in the world.
Satellite images from May 2022 and May 2023
(NASA)
OLIVE OIL PRICES CLIMBING AFTER HEAT, DROUGHT IN EUROPE LEADS TO POOR HARVEST, SHORTAGE
According to estimates, the Andalusia region produces around a quarter of the world's supply.
It is in this region where NASA reported, as of mid-May, observation sites had only seen about 30 percent of their usual rainfall with temperatures that have already topped 100 degrees Fahrenheit this year.
"These factors have impacted global olive oil pricing and supply and will continue to for the coming months. However, we’re pleased that it rained some this week in Andalusia, a major growing region of Spain, and with several months before the harvest, the full impact of the weather on this year’s crop is yet unknown," Joseph R. Profaci, executive director of the North American Olive Oil Association, stated. "There are, of course, many other growing regions around the world, some of which are predicting strong harvests, but we’re continuing to monitor the situation in Spain closely, as it is the main driver of the global olive oil market."
The impacts on the industry have caused consumer prices to rise 30 to 50 percent in some regions, according to recent reports.
WHAT SEASON DO FRUITS AND VEGETABLES GROW IN?
Despite the decrease in production, the NAOOA said there’s been no impact on the supply of oil for U.S. consumers, and sales have remained consistent.
Typical olive harvesting season in the Mediterranean climate is in the fall, which means the summer weather will be crucial in determining how successful the crop will be.
![Spain's Ongoing Drought Threatens Upcoming Olive Harvest]()
Image 1 of 4MÁLAGA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 01: A nautical pass and a boat grounded on the cracked ground in the La Viñuela reservoir, located in Axarquia, is currently at 11 percent of its capacity on September 01, 2022 in Málaga, Spain. Spain accounts for nearly half of the global olive oil supply and with the ongoing historic drought this year's "green gold" yield is down by more than a third, as farmers anticipate the upcoming harvest in November. (Photo by Carlos Gil/Getty Images) (Photo by Carlos Gil/Getty Images)
![Olive Harvest And Oil Production at Worlds Largest Bottler]()
Image 2 of 4Olive trees in a grove, operated by Almazaras de la Subbetica SCA, a supplier to Deoleo SA, in the Subbetica province of Cordoba, Spain, on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022. Olive oil is Spain's third biggest agro-food export with a median output of 1.3 million metric tonnes per year. (Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
![Spaniards Pray For Rain In Special Mass Amid Drought]()
Image 3 of 4EL TROBAL, SPAIN - APRIL 15: Francisco Miles, 70, helps his daughter, Natacha, 23, and son-in-law Eloy, 25, to set up the tractor's drag to be able to sow. Eloy complains that every year it is more difficult to be a farmer and to grow crops because of the drought that gets worse every year on April 15, 2023 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. With an important agricultural production decrease due to the extreme heatwaves and ensuing drought for several years, Spain's Andalusia region has seen yields slump more than half the usual quantities. (Photo by Zowy Voeten/Getty Images)
![Flamingoes In Spain Lose Nesting Grounds To Drought]()
Image 4 of 4FUENTE DE PIEDRA, SPAIN - APRIL 28: Dry stream, next to the Laguna de Fuente de Piedra also dry and covered with salt due to the drought on April 28, 2023 in Fuente de Piedra, Spain. Due to the lack of rainfall and the high temperatures caused by the unusual heat wave in April, the Fuente de Piedra Lagoon, the most important wetland in the province of Malaga, has dried up. That is why this year the flamingos have not nested in this area, and where there should be approximately 8,000 flamingos, only 100 remain in a puddle of water emanating from a treatment plant (Photo by Carlos Gil/Getty Images)
