We have new information about the 2015/2016 harvest season! The International Olive Oil Council has announced its forecast of olive oil production for the 2015/2016 campaign, setting an expectation of global production of 2,988,500 tons, which is approximately 22% higher than the previous campaign.

With no change, the main producing countries of this season are still Spain, Italy and Greece. According to the information, Spain is expected to have a total production of 1,300,000 tons, compared with the previous campaign, this means a 55% rise over. Meanwhile the estimation for Italy would be 350,000 tons and 300,000 tons for Greece.

As the largest producing country, we forecast that Spain will have a share of more than 43% of the global production.

At the national level, Andalusia is the main olive oil producing region without any doubt. According to Andalusia's Minister of Agriculture, Fishing and Rural Development, Carmen Ortiz, the government anticipates a substantial increase in olive production for the 2015/2016 harvest season. The production in Andalusia could exceed 1 million tons, which means an increase of 53%.

Jaén, as Spain's leading olive oil producing region, is poised for the most impressive increase this time, since its output is predicted to reach 485,000 tons, more than doubled of the previous campaign. Other Andalusian provinces are expected to see production jumps as well, with Córdoba with a possible rise of 54%, Málaga 24%, Cádiz 17%, and Almería 16%.

Ortiz explained that the combination of the coming year's production and the remaining stock would allow Spain to meet its domestic needs of around 500,000 tones, while exporting some 800,000 tons abroad.

We should also be careful that the numbers are initial predictions that could change based on various factors over the course of the coming months of harvesting, we will keep you informed!