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‘Catastrophic’ harvest for French olive oil
An aging population of olive farmers and the loss of savoir-faire are among reasons given by the industry body Afidol for a ‘catastrophic’ year for olive oil in France.
Lack of preparation for climate change, flies which attack the fruit and more organic (and therefore less intensive) production, are also blamed for the fact that only about 3,300 tonnes of oil have been produced in the 2016-2017 season.
This is the same as in 2000, despite the fact that some 7,000 hectares of trees have been planted since then.
In comparison production is booming in countries like Spain and Greece, meaning that French oil is expensive and in short supply – it accounts for just 4% of the consumption of olive oil in France.
