Spain moves to pull 12% of olive oil off market

Spain is moving to take 12% of its olive oil production off the market: the government says the temporary step aims to protect growers’ incomes and prevent sudden price swings for consumers. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said the mechanism had been activated on Friday, 6 November 2026, during a visit to the La Unión cooperative in Montilla, Córdoba province, Spain.

A resolution by Spain’s Directorate-General for Agricultural Production and Markets appeared in the official state gazette that day. Planas said the move followed a request from the farming groups Asaja, UPA and COAG, and Spain’s agri-food cooperatives. They want to protect growers’ profitability. He pointed to the much higher production costs of traditional olive groves compared with super-intensive cultivation.

The newly started season could produce more than 1.6 million tonnes of olive oil, according to estimates from Spain’s regions. Another 357,000 tonnes remains from the previous season. Together, that puts the potential supply close to two million tonnes — above the threshold for activating the withdrawal mechanism, set at 120% of the average for the past six seasons.

Planas described taking oil off the market as an exceptional, temporary measure. European Union rules allow olive-oil-producing member states to regulate supply for a limited time and in limited quantities when production is too high.

Topics: Agriculture · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com