Olive oil is suffering due to stockpiles piling up at oil mills: Calabria and Puglia are calling for a state of emergency
Over 200,000 tonnes of oil from the previous harvest have been stockpiled. Among the solutions being considered by Masaf and Mimit are a scheme for the needy and a debt moratorium. Unapol president Loiodice: last year the price was 7–8 euros, and today it stands at 4–4.5 euros
Key points
Italian olive oil is suffering under the weight of unsold stock. Olive oil mills and agricultural co-operatives have over 200,000 tonnes of product from the previous harvest in storage. These quantities were put into storage at the start of 2025 in response to the first signs of falling prices, in the hope that prices would recover. A recovery that never materialised.
Apulia and Calabria account for half of national production
Now, however, the full silos are casting a grim shadow over the forthcoming harvest because, if sales do not pick up again, it is unlikely that oil mills and processing plants will be able to take delivery of the new crop, dragging agricultural producers into the crisis as well – if they are not already affected.
In recent days, the Ministry of Agriculture has received a request for a state of crisis from Puglia and Calabria (two regions that account for over half of Italia’s olive oil production). This would open the way for financial support and the possibility of obtaining debt moratoriums.
The Government is considering a range of possible solutions
In reality, things are not quite that simple. Most of the unsold oil stocks are held by olive oil mills, which act as a link within the supply chain between agricultural production and industrial processing. However, oil mills are not agricultural enterprises but artisanal businesses, and therefore the Ministry of Agriculture does not have jurisdiction over any potential crisis. For this reason, MASAF has in recent days sent a letter to the Ministry of Enterprise and Made in Italy (which Il Sole 24 Ore has been able to view) to highlight the issue of jurisdiction. The Mimit responded to this letter by expressing its willingness to address the crisis facing olive oil mills within its own agro-industrial working group.
In recent days, Coldiretti has also submitted a request to MASAF to launch a call for tenders to allocate consignments of extra virgin olive oil to the needy. “This is an option we are working on,” commented Patrizio La Pietra, the Under-Secretary responsible for the sector, “and we will endeavour to implement the measure as soon as possible.”
