September 25, 2023 – The olive harvest is about to start in Croatia. Unlike record-breaking last year, olive growers now expect a somewhat smaller harvest. Will Croatian olive oil become more expensive? Surely so, but it is hard to say by how much.
Cultivation costs have also increased for olive growers, so this increased cost will undoubtedly be calculated into the new higher prices of olive oil, writes HRT/Index.
In Polača, the olives are healthy, but a weaker crop is expected. Oblica, the variety most represented in Dalmatia, failed, but the other varieties did well. “We are members of the Malina i Vino Agricultural Cooperative, a partner institution that has 12,000 trees. I expect around 30 percent less harvest than last year,” says olive grower Rado Bobanović.
Croatian Olive Oil Production
For Ivan Birkić from Biograd na Moru, this year’s crop of 1,000 trees will bear 30 percent less fruit than last year’s record year. His olive grove is relatively young, though, only six years.
“This year’s crop, depending on the variety, will give an average amount of fruit, maybe for some varieties at the level of last year, which is very good. Oblica has done rather poorly this year. However, all these other varieties, introduced, autochthonous, imported, Leccino, Karolea, they are doing quite well. Local varieties too, such as Levantine, are very good,” he points out.
“This year, there was a large infestation, first of all by the moth. We dealt with it using traps, a I do not introduce any chemistry into the olive groves and only use biological protection. After that, the olives were attacked by the Caenorhinus,” said Birkić.
Croatian olive oil from local producers covers half of the market’s needs for olive oil, and the rest is imported. Considering the expected weaker harvest, the price of Croatian olive oil is expected to be some 10 percent higher than last year.
