Olive oil production exceeded 1.75 million hectoliters in 2023, which corresponds to the second most productive olive oil campaign ever, revealed today the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The 2023 Agricultural Statistics indicate, however, that the high moisture content of the olives made it difficult to extract oil, which resulted in a lower funda (olive yield in the mill).
The data released today also show that the degree of self-sufficiency of olive oil in 2022 was 198.6% (98.6 percentage points above self-sufficiency), 66.2 pp below the value presented in 2021.
The country broke the record for the degree of self-sufficiency in 2021, having registered the highest value in the entire available series.
The 2022/23 autumn/winter grain campaign was marked by the “severe spring drought”, the worst ever for all cereal species.
This was the worst campaign ever for all cereal species, concludes the INE, due to the decreases in areas (except barley) and productivity.
The accumulated precipitation in autumn/winter allowed some recovery of the storage levels of reservoirs and private irrigation systems, allowing the irrigation campaign to proceed normally, it adds.
Despite occasional difficulties in transporting and storing corn for grain, due to the concentration of harvests before the rains, there was a 7% increase in production compared to 2022.
Rice production, in turn, registered a growth of 15% as a result of increases in area and, above all, productivity.
The statistics institute also reports that the tomato area for the industry was 17.2 thousand hectares (+13%) and production was 1.69 million tons (+19%), positioning this campaign as the second most productive.
Apple production was similar to that of 2022, although the West region registered a decrease of 15%.
In contrast, production in Trás-os-Montes increased by around 8%, with part of the production being diverted to industry, highlights the INE.
As for pears, production fell for the second consecutive year (-11%, compared to 2022), being the worst campaign since 2012 due to adverse weather conditions.
“The intensification of fire blight has put increased pressure on the sector, forcing the uprooting and abandonment of many orchards in the affected areas,” the institute highlights.
In terms of fruit, cherry production was 11.8 thousand tons, which corresponds to less than half of that achieved in 2022.
The orchards were heavily affected by adverse weather conditions that affected the entire cycle, from floral differentiation, flowering and fruit set to ripening, the statement reads.
Kiwi production fell by 8%, but the quality of the fruit was very good, showing regular sizes, with a positive impact on prices.
With the exception of lemon, citrus fruits showed a significant reduction in production, explained by the good production of the previous year and the severe drought, particularly in the Algarve, where there were restrictions on the use of water for irrigation.
In late orange varieties, the decrease was around 50%, contributing decisively to the overall decrease of 26%.
For the third consecutive year, chestnut production, in turn, was conditioned by phytosanitary problems, aggravated by droughts, with an impact on the quality and quantity of the overall production harvested, which was one third lower than the average of the last five years, concludes the INE.
(updated news with more information)
Source: www.jornaldenegocios.pt
