Murça, Portugal, Nov. 13, 2024 (Lusa) - The olive harvest could grow by 10% to 15% in Trás-os-Montes, with good fruit yields and more olive oil production expected this season when the shortage of harvest workers is intensifying.

The director of the Association of Olive Growers of Trás-os-Montes (AOTD) and president of the Murça Olive Growers Agricultural Cooperative, Francisco Ribeiro, told Lusa news agency that an increase of around 10% to 15% in olives is expected, a production above the 2023 harvest, but still below the 2020/2021 figures.

It is also expected, he added, that the yield will be better than last year, i.e. that it will take fewer kilos of olives to make a litre of oil.

Therefore, he specified, with higher yields, olive oil production could be even higher, possibly by as much as 20%.

"The rain in September was essential for creating the fat content," he said.

However, he emphasised that the weather could influence production, pointing out that heavy rain is forecast for the end of the week and that the mild temperatures are conducive to the appearance of pests such as the olive fly.

In Murça, the co-operative opened on Monday, a week earlier than planned, because ripening has recently accelerated.

An immigrant to Spain, Hugo Carvalho took his holidays to help his parents harvest the olives in Martim.

"Last year, we had a small quantity of olives; this year, the quantity has improved a lot," he said.

The harvest, which began on Monday, is done with eight people, mechanical poles, and tarpaulins on the ground. According to Hugo Carvalho, the main difficulty for a farmer today is labour.

In steep terrain, it's more difficult to introduce other machinery, such as tractors with articulated awnings.

Manuel Pereira, from Sobredo, has more olives. On Tuesday, his team of five was helping a neighbour who "doesn't have anyone to do the work for him".

"Everyone is asking for people to work and they don't have any, and that's complicated," he emphasised.

João Morais, from Noura, said that, in terms of quantity, this year, "there might be a bit more", pointing to an extra "10% to 20%". Last year, he harvested 5,000 kilos of olives. "I've harvested 10,000 kilos before, but these last few years have been weak," he emphasised.

The harvest is done "with the silver of the house"; he said the olives are already falling well.

João Morais was concerned about the price of production factors, such as fuel, phytopharmaceuticals and fertilisers, and said he feared a drop in the price of olive oil because of the increase in production.

"I think it shot up too quickly; it could have been calmer, and it wouldn't have been so noticeable; it's just that now it's also noticeable when it goes down," he said.

The olive harvest began while the chestnut harvest was still underway, intensifying the difficulties of hiring workers in municipalities like Murça.

It's difficult for the cooperative itself to find seasonal workers, and, according to Francisco Ribeiro, another job has been created to overcome this difficulty.

In 2023, Murça harvested two million kilos of olives, less than the three million kilos of the 2020/2021 campaign.

"This year, we expect between 2.3 and 2.5 million kilos," he said, adding that “sales are going well” and that 25% of production is destined for export.

Asked about a possible drop in the price of olive oil due to the estimated increase in production, Francisco Ribeiro said that if there is a price adjustment, it will hardly happen before January or February. Still, he said he hoped that the reduction, if it happens, "won't be huge".

He emphasised that production costs "are here to stay" and that the "big problem was that, for decades, the value of olive oil was unchangeable".

"The value is probably fair now. I think this readjustment should have been more progressive. What's worrying is if there is also a fall in this way, which would be a blow to the region," he said.

In his opinion, the big challenge is to promote Portuguese olive oil.

"We need to add value to olive oil, particularly for low-density areas," he argued, considering that there has to be at least one crop that helps farmers pay the costs.

Other crops, such as grapes and almonds, have fallen in value, and chestnuts have suffered a downturn.

ZLI/ADB // ADB.

Lusa