Spain Produces 1.3M Tons of Olive Oil as Prices Fall

Spain produced 1.3 million metric tons of olive oil in the 2025/26 crop year, an amount the government said would be “enough to meet market needs.”

According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, production continued later than usual in some areas.

“The 2025/26 campaign production is complete with 1.3 million tons, in a season that has been somewhat longer than usual, influenced by the delay in harvesting in certain producing areas due to the impact of meteorological causes from December to February,” the ministry wrote in its monthly market bulletin.

The final tally was welcome news for bottlers and exporters after the Spanish Association of Olive Municipalities predicted in February that heavy rains and flooding caused by Storm Leonardo would reduce production in the world’s largest olive oil-producing country to 1.2 million tons.

However, production remained well below the 1.45 million tons anticipated before the harvest began in September. A lack of rain and unusually warm weather at the start of autumn resulted in less oil accumulating in the fruit than expected.

Production declined most sharply in Andalusia, the country’s largest olive oil-producing region, falling from 1.15 million tons in 2024/25 to 974,100 tons in 2025/26.

The decline was partially offset by significant increases in Aragón and Valencia, where production quadrupled from the previous crop year to 17,100 tons and 23,400 tons, respectively.

Castilla-La Mancha, Spain’s second-largest producing region, recorded a more modest decline. Production fell from 146,600 tons in 2024/25 to 138,600 tons in 2025/26.

Production in Extremadura remained broadly stable at 78,300 tons.

Meanwhile, production in Catalonia lived up to pre-harvest optimism. Spain’s fourth-largest producing region yielded 38,900 tons, more than double the previous harvest.

Murcia, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands also recorded substantial increases in production.

Production in Murcia rose from 4,300 tons to 14,300 tons, while output in the Balearic Islands increased from 245 tons to 990 tons.

The Canary Islands recorded the largest proportional increase, producing 26 tons of olive oil in 2025/26, up from 1 ton in the previous crop year.

Although Spain’s total yield was slightly lower than the 1.42 million tons produced in 2024/25, it exceeded the four-year average by 14 percent. The result also contributed to a third consecutive monthly increase in olive oil stocks through the end of June.

The increase in stocks, despite lower production, was attributed in part to weaker domestic sales. Spanish olive oil sales fell to 362,800 tons in the first nine months of 2025/26, compared with 377,200 tons during the same period of the previous crop year.

Exports also declined, falling from 759,400 tons to 745,300 tons, while imports rose from 175,000 tons to 200,600 tons during the first nine months of the crop year.

The continuing normalization of the market pushed extra virgin olive oil prices at origin to their lowest level since 2022.

Extra virgin olive oil traded at about €362 per 100 kilograms, roughly 50 percent below the unprecedented highs recorded in 2023 and 2024.

Prices for virgin, lampante and refined olive oils also remained well below the record levels reached during those years, although each was slightly higher than at the same point last year.

Separate ministry data showed a modest decline in table olive production, which fell from 533,200 tons in 2024/25 to 503,100 tons in the current crop year.