ROME, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Italian olive oil producers have formally recovered from the problems that crippled it starting a year ago, according to the country's main olive grower groups. But the threat of climate-related hazards is likely to keep olive growers on high alert going forward.
According to data from three olive oil sector organizations -- CIA-Agricoltori Italiani, Italia Olivicola, and the Italian Association of Oil Millers, production of olive oil this year will be nearly double the level from a year ago.
The groups said that favorable weather that included a warm summer with low humidity and a lack of pests that harm olive trees were factors behind the dramatic increase. But the biggest factor, according to analysts, was the low production last year, which is the comparison period for the new olive oil season.
"This has been an ideal year for the production of olive oil and that results in high quantity and excellent quality," Anna Rufolo, head of the policy division for CIA-Agricoltori Italiani, told Xinhua. "But the dramatic increase in production is mainly just a regression to the mean for a sector that suffered terribly a season ago."
In 2018, extreme weather that included early rains, an unusually cold spring, and then a hot, rainless summer, dealt a blow to the sector so severe that it turned the country that is normally the world's second-largest exporter of olive oil into a net importer. All told, production was down nearly 60 percent compared to normal production levels. It was the worst olive harvest in Italy in at least 25 years.
This year production is set to rise by around 90 percent compared to the down year, a big jump that still leaves production levels below normal levels.
Meanwhile, according to Nicola di Noia, head of the olive oil division for agricultural industry association Coldiretti, the threat of more blows from a changing climate hangs over the sector.
"Farmers are already starting to make changes in the way they grow their olives but there is only so much that can be done," di Noia said in an interview. "We have had a nice harvest this time but we have no way of knowing the next time strange weather or some other factor will hit the sector again."
The industry groups blame the severe weather on climate change, which scientists say is creating higher temperatures and less predictable weather.
This week, the European Commission announced it would take steps to help ailing olive oil producers across the European Union through a private storage initiative. While the plan would not help producers adapt to severe weather, it would help even out prices by storing oil from strong vintages like the latest one to prevent oversupply while also providing supply for down years.
