The Government has ordered for the first time to withdraw part of the olive oil harvest from the market to prevent prices from sinking. The Ministry of Agriculture published this Friday in the BOE the resolution that forces oil mills to save 12% of their production, about 188,000 tons, which cannot be sold until September 30, 2027.
The measure has split the sector in two. The farmers, who have been demanding it for years, consider it "historic" and necessary to survive with the oil at about three euros per kilo. Packagers will resort to it, and both they and consumers warn that the buyer in the supermarket may end up paying for it.
The Ministry foresees a production of 1,602,596 tons in the 2026/2027 campaign, 23% more than in the previous one and the fourth largest in the historical series. Added to this figure are 357,040 tons of initial stocks, 23.3% more than a year ago. Together they exceed the threshold set by the norm: 120% of the average of the six previous campaigns.
The order that regulates the mechanism, published on October 30, allowed up to 20% of production to be withdrawn. Agriculture has set it at 12%. Each oil mill must store that percentage of what it declares each month starting in November, in its own or third-party deposits, and will be able to choose the category of oil it immobilizes. The standard does not provide any compensation for the cost of storage.
Control will correspond to the autonomous communities. The Ministry will review the percentage starting December 31 and may lower it if harvest estimates or price trends change.
Agricultural organizations had been demanding the mechanism for years. Jesús Cózar, general secretary of UPA Andalusia, describes it as a "historic measure" and trusts that, with "less supply", prices at origin will improve. "We are on a knife's edge, many farms are on the limit of continuing to operate," he warns. According to their data, oil is now paid for about three euros per kilo, when most farms are only profitable from 4.5.
Eduardo Martín, general secretary of Asaja Sevilla, remembers that a year ago the oil cost more than 4.90 euros and now it "barely" costs more than three. Francisco Elvira, head of the olive grove at COAG, defends that the measure only saves the surplus from the high campaigns for the years of lower harvest and that it will give "stability to both producers and consumers."
The packaging industry will take the measure to court. "It comes to alter the law of supply and demand, and we believe that it is not the way. That is why we are going to resort to it," Primitivo Fernández, director of the National Association of Industrial Packaging and Refiners of Edible Oils (Anierac), assures EL MUNDO, which according to his own data represents 65% of the olive oil bottled in Spain. Fernández did not specify before which instance they will present the appeal or if they will request his precautionary suspension.
Anierac already opposed it when the legal framework was designed, "and now we are going to oppose it again." His main criticism is that it is an extraordinary measure: "If we have problems here, what makes no sense is to provide temporary and temporary solutions."
The director of Anierac maintains that "no other country is applying measures at this time", which, in his opinion, "ends up discriminating against us" compared to other producers. And he warns that, if the withdrawal has the desired effect on prices, "it will hurt the rest of the chain" and "ultimately it will probably be passed on to the consumer." Your alternative is to increase consumption with promotion.
In October, Anierac and the exporters' association, Asoliva, already warned in a joint statement of the risk of losing clients abroad. "If the withdrawal reduces our availability or competitiveness in international markets, other countries can occupy that space," said Rafael Pico, director of Asoliva.
Both organizations are supported by the report from the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), which warned that restricting supply can raise prices, reduce incentives to improve quality and variety and increase the risk of coordination between operators, to the detriment of consumers.
Facua considers it "scandalous" that the Government intervenes now to stop the declines and remembers that it did not do so in 2023, when the liter of extra virgin of some brands exceeded 15 euros after two very short harvests due to the drought. "It has only intervened forcefully to prevent prices from falling," criticizes its general secretary, Rubén Sánchez.
The association fears that the measure will raise the price on the shelves and prevent the reduction in price at source from reaching the consumer, and once again asks the Ministry to cap the prices of basic foods.
The obligation falls on all oil mills. Dcoop, the largest olive cooperative group, assures that it has "its own storage capacity for all its production, so it could assume this withdrawal." He has not specified how many tons he will have to immobilize because the campaign "is starting now."
The situation may be different for small oil mills. The CNMC detected that the regulation's memory provided for exempting the smallest companies, which account for 2% of the market, but that exemption did not appear in the draft. It is also not included in the published order.
