Winds and rain beating the olives off the trees before they are ripe Storms cause damage to Mediterranean olive crop Heavy rains and high winds have caused substantial damage and delays to the early harvesting of olives in both Italy and Greece where picking is now in full swing. The bad weather is causing the fruit to fall to the ground and rot. In Spain harvesting has commenced in some regions, but again the winds and rain are beating the olives off the trees before they are ripe. Further storms have swept across North Africa adversely affecting the already very small crop projections in Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco. The difficult situation next year for olive oil could deteriorate further as both Italy and Greece downgrade crop prospects. It will be a further three or four months before harvesting is complete and if the present bad weather continues, further losses will occur. The damp weather has also brought problems with olive fly, which may reduce yields. All eyes are now on Spain, which is the only Mediterranean country that is likely to produce significant oil to meet global demand. Spanish sources report that the carryover on November 1 was only 120,000 tonnes (this date is the start of the new EU crop year). However crop expectation remain high, possibly 1.1m tonnes. Last year Spanish domestic consumption was around 600,000t, and exports from Spain were recorded at 450,000t of which Italy bought approximately half. With new crop oil becoming available market prices have eased back from their recent peak. {{CANNED GOODS }}