The overall crop size of table olives in Spain was about 15% less than last year, mainly because both growers and processors lack affordable financing during the economic slowdown of the country. Many growers left their crops for olive oil because they couldn’t afford to hire pickers.
The Manzanilla crop was especially affected: it’s down by almost 30% from last year and the average size is also slightly smaller. The harvest of the Hojiblanca variety that is mainly used for ripe olives was similar to last year. The volume of Queen (Gordal) olives is also significantly lower than last year, down by almost 25%, with the larger sizes especially short (70-100 ct) and expensive. Overall prices are similar to last year’s levels; only the Queen olives are more expensive.