The Italian Institute of Services for the Agricultural and Food Market (Ismea) published its annual report on the olive oil industry, revealing an increase in the number of olive oil companies in northern Italy and a constant growth in production organic at the national level.
From 2010 to 2020, the largest increase (202 percent) of olive oil companies was recorded in Piedmont, where the number of companies tripled from 641 to 1,939.
It is clear that, due to climate change, production in the north will increase in the medium-long term, despite the fact that the majority of Italian production still comes from other areas of the country.– Tiziana Sarnari, market analyst, Ismea
Lombardy followed, where the figure more than doubled (132 percent), from 1,939 to 4,506. Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Aosta Valley, Trentino-Alto Adige and Emilia-Romagna saw increases of 61 percent, 51 percent, 25 percent and 12 percent, respectively.
However, during that period, the number of olive oil companies in the central and southern regions decreased by 31 percent, rising to 619,378 in 2020, when the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) conducted the last agricultural census.
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On the other hand, the area dedicated to olive cultivation in Italy has not changed significantly in recent years, rising to 1,135,837 hectares in 2023. Still, the regions of Piedmont, Liguria, Sicily and Veneto have experienced the largest increases, specifically a 16 percent. 13 percent, 10 percent and 7 percent, respectively.
“It has become clear that due to climate change, production in the north is increasing in the medium and long term, despite the fact that the majority of Italian production still comes from other areas of the country,” says Tiziana Sarnari, market analyst and editor of the Ismea report. Olive Oil Times.
“It is not a major change, but there are some changes that allow us to think that olive growing can find new spaces for development also in the northern regions,” he added.
The report also states that the area dedicated to growing organic olive trees in Italy is increasing.
Significant growth occurred from 2013 to 2018, and then slower but steady expansion took the country’s organic olive acreage to 272,000 hectares in 2022. Puglia accounts for 30 percent of this figure, followed closely by Calabria (28 percent cent) and Sicily (15 percent). , Tuscany (eight percent), Lazio and Campania (four percent).
The organic area represents 24 percent of the country’s total area dedicated to olive oil production, while certified organic extra virgin olive oils represent 15 percent of the country’s total olive oil production.
Most of the production with organic certification comes from the southern regions. In particular, between 2019 and 2022, on average, Puglia accounted for almost half (46 percent) of Italian organic extra virgin olive oils, followed by Calabria (30 percent) and Sicily (12 percent).
The smallest percentages came from Tuscany (four percent) and Lazio (two percent), followed by Campania and the other central and southern regions (one percent each).
“The south continues to be the area with the highest production of organic extra virgin olive oils, both because it represents the majority of national olive oil production and also for climatic reasons,” Sarnari said.
““In general, we are seeing greater attention from farmers towards more sustainable agronomic management and greater awareness of this aspect among consumers,” he added.
