- Title: U.S. tariffs threaten livelihoods of Spain's olive-farming families
- Date: 17th October 2019
- Summary: PORCUNA, SPAIN (OCTOBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF OLIVE TREES FARMERS WALKING THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE OLIVE PRODUCERS SHAKING THE TREES FOR OLIVES TO FALL OLIVES IN THE TREE VARIOUS OF PRODUCERS SHAKING THE TREES WITH MECHANICAL 'COMBS' (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) OLIVE'S PRODUCER PABLO CASADO SAYING: "In these past 40 years we have never had a situation like this. The survival of the olive-grower is in danger. We cannot compete with the oils that are bringing from abroad, we cannot compete with the new plantations, we cannot compete with the tariffs that Mr. Trump has placed on us. That's choking us and it's really dangerous."
- Embargoed: 31st October 2019 09:49
- Keywords: tariffs olive trees spain olive producers olive grove Olive oil U.S. tariffs agriculture spanish olive oil farming
- Location: PORCUNA, SPAIN
- City: PORCUNA, SPAIN
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA002B1HJGP3
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: A double whammy of U.S. import tariffs kicking in on Friday (October 18) and a recent steep drop in global olive oil prices is threatening the subsistence of thousands of families in southern Spain who fully depend on "liquid gold", as the oil is known here.
The southern Andalusia region is home to the world's largest olive oil industry, accounting for about half the global output.
U.S. President Donald Trump's administration slapped 25% import tariffs on several European agricultural products, including Spanish olive oil, as part of WTO-authorised countermeasures in a long-running spat over subsidies to planemaker Airbus
54-year-old Pablo Casado, who has grown olives for the past 40 years, told Reuters that he does not understand why an agreement between politicians must be paid by olive farmers.
They start working in the groves before the sun rises so that the cool temperature preserves the olives' best properties. By hand or with the help of simple mechanical 'combs', they shake the trees for hours, collecting tonnes of olives to then quickly transport them to the cooperative for pressing.
"In these 40 years, we have never had a situation like this ... The survival of the olive-grove is in danger," Casado said, explaining that the price of extra virgin oil, of around two euros ($2.20) was already below his production cost of at least 2.4 euros.
In his small town of Porcuna, most of the 7,000 inhabitants grow olives or make the oil sticking to traditional methods that confer a supreme quality to the end product. Most of the work is done by hand in the field and at the presses.
They are already immersed in the production of a premium oil made from the greenest olives before the main harvesting campaign starts in mid-November.
The United States consumes 320,000 tonnes of olive oil annually or about half of all the non-EU consumption globally. Spain accounts for around 200,000 tonnes of American imports, including direct and indirect sales, the latter involving oil exported elsewhere in large containers and bottled abroad.
Casado's son, Sergio, 23, has returned to the farm after a two-year stint at a university only to find things more complicated than before.
(Production: Mariano Valladolid, Elena Rodriguez, Silvio Castellanos) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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