Catalonia asks to remain outside the mandatory olive oil reserve

BarcelonaThe Government and the Catalan olive oil sector will ask the Ministry of Agriculture for Catalan oil mills to be temporarily exempt from the obligation to retain up to 12% of olive oil production, a measure adopted by the Spanish government to regulate supply and stabilize the market. The large production in some areas, such as Andalusia, has caused the price of olive oil to plummet, after years of rising prices due to low yields caused by drought.

The Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat de Catalunya hosted a meeting of the Olive Board on Tuesday with organizations and representatives of the sector to analyze the impact of the new mandatory olive oil storage measure approved by the ministry. A measure poorly received by the Catalan countryside and which also is being questioned by the National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC).

The state regulation establishes that oil mills must maintain minimum final stocks equivalent to 12% of the cumulative olive oil production since November 1st with the objective of regulating supply and contributing to market stability.

The Department of Agriculture has reported that it has proposed to the Catalan sector to write and sign a joint letter addressed to the ministry to request that Catalan oil mills be exempt from this obligation until December 31, 2026, the date on which this measure decreed by the Spanish government is scheduled to be reviewed.

The Generalitat considers that in Catalonia there is no forecast of overproduction in the producing regions that would justify applying the obligation under the same conditions as in the rest of Spain. A uniform application, the Catalan administration argues, could generate disproportionate effects on Catalan oil mills, especially regarding storage capacity, management costs, and compliance with commercial commitments, without necessarily contributing significantly to market stabilization.

For this reason, the Department of Agriculture defends that regulatory measures take into account the productive and commercial circumstances of each territory of the State.

In this sense, they will also ask from Catalonia that, in the review of this storage measure scheduled for the end of the year, it be assessed whether it is necessary to maintain, modify, or exempt the application of the obligation in Catalonia, according to the updated production estimates and market trends.

The mechanism outlined by the central executive involves withdrawing 188,000 tons of olive oil from the market – 12% of the production forecast for this 2026-2027 season, plus existing stocks – across the State. In the eyes of the Spanish government, the regulation seeks to anticipate a scenario of "excess supply that could destabilize the market." The oil will not be thrown away, but will be stored to be sold later. Since high production is expected this year, for every 100 liters produced from now on, 12 will be set aside.

Unrest in the Catalan countryside

The measure has caused unrest in the Catalan countryside. It should be noted that it affects the entire State equally: this means that it affects mills, presses or oil mills (where oil is produced or bottled) in, for example, Les Borges Blanques but also Jaén. In Catalonia there are about 265 establishments dedicated mainly to the manufacturing or bottling of olive oil, according to industry data.

From the DOP Siurana –which affects seven regions located in the Camp de Tarragona and the Terres de l’Ebre– it is denounced that the ministry's decision "penalizes territories that, like ours, are not in a situation of overproduction". The agricultural union Unió de Pagesos has also criticized the measure, because it is interpreted that it will only favor large bottling companies in the State.

The agricultural union considers that the low price of oil puts pressure on many Catalan farms that produce virgin olive oil, but they equally criticize the measure of storing part of the production. In fact, the union criticizes the attempt to control the price by withdrawing local production when between 300,000 and 400,000 tons arrive from other countries every year.