Wholesale costs double following ‘black year’ for farms in southern Europe and north Africa.
Unusual weather and a proliferation of insects and bacterial blight have devastated the harvest in several countries. Analysts have been predicting a bad year for olive oil since the summer, after it became clear that hot late spring weather in Spain – the world’s largest producer of olives – was going to have a key impact on autumn harvests. Other producers have been coming in with equally poor results, adding to the woes of the industry Europe-wide.
Farmers in Italy have suffered so badly from pests and adverse weather that many are reporting harvests 40% to 50% down on 2013. Unusually large flocks of starlings have been reported as further destroying the fruits in parts of southern Italy, leading to calls for a cull.
Read full article: http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/jan/03/olive-oil-price-rise-feared
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