Good Soil And Climate Conditions This Year Cited
The Olive Oil Industry News says 150,000 tons of Portuguese olives are expected for the crop year 2021/2022 when the final numbers are in.
It turns out this high yield is a combination of factors. Many groves in Portugal have entered an on-year in the natural alternate bearing cycle. Olive production has increased with the application of precise crop management technology and favorable soil and climate conditions.
Portugal’s olive production sector ranks high in environmental sustainability due to growers reducing their reliance on phytopharmaceuticals and water conservation.
Experts say 95 percent of the production this crop year meets the requirements for virgin and extra virgin. Higher than any other major olive oil-producing country.
Portugal’s olive production has seen year-on-year gains with no end in sight. Production records have been broken every year since 2009.
The southern Portuguese region of Alentejo was responsible for more than 80 percent of the country’s olive harvest. If conditions and production remain stable, Portugal could improve its rank as the eighth to the third-largest producer of olive oil in just ten years.
Ana Carrilho, a local olive oil producer and the director of the Center for the Study and Promotion of Alentejo Olive Oils (CEPAAL), believes that the modernization of Portugal’s olive groves will continue to benefit the entire sector, especially as locals begin to take the reigns. The country continues to focus its technology investments on high-density groves. Growers are now focusing less on traditional varieties.
While a traditional grove supports 250 trees per hectare, Super high-density groves can accommodate 1,000 trees. The super-high density groves of Alentejo yield almost 30 tons per hectare.
Casa do Azeite, the Portuguese Olive Oil Association expects production to continue to grow as farmers move to more intense cultivation in the coming years.
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