Record olive harvest in Croatia, yet less oil than ever

Record olive harvest in Croatia this season but not all good news

The olive processing season is in full swing in Croatia. While the olive harvest is at a record high, the amount of olive oil produced is the lowest it’s ever been, which will undoubtedly affect its price.

Olive processing machines along the coast are running non-stop. The yield is exceptional, but September brought too much rain.

“The olives are full of water. Yields are averaging around nine to ten percent, which is much lower than in previous years for this time of year,” Srećko Katinac, an olive mill owner and olive grower told Dnevnik Nova TV.

Higher processing costs and less oil aren’t good news for consumers, but the quality, according to an olive expert from Hvar, is excellent.

“The phenols are outstanding, with balanced spiciness and bitterness, so I’m very pleased,” said senior agricultural advisor and olive grower Stanislav Štambuk.

At a test olive grove run by the Agricultural Agency, oils from Mediterranean competitors were tasted, with local olive growers showing interest in their super-intensive groves.

“We plant them where the land is flat, the soil fertile, and where machinery can access. In fact, robots are already being used in other countries—you release the robot, and it works through the entire grove. Considering the labour shortages, that’s the way forward,” said Damir Galić from the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food.

However, after extensive research, the news isn’t encouraging.

“Our varieties in these conditions are a bit unruly, a bit too vigorous, and don’t adapt as well as foreign ones. Our varieties aren’t suitable for this cultivation system,” explained Predrag Vujević, a scientific advisor from the Croatian Agency for Agriculture and Food.

So, for the time being, it will be the hardworking hands of local olive growers, not robots, that harvest the fruit.