On 18 December, the ‘Cátedra Caja Rural de Jaén José Luis García-Lomas Hernández’ of Economics, Marketing and Olive Oil Cooperatives at the University of Jaén presented the ‘Annual Report on the Olive Oil Sector 2025’. Speakers at the event included Raúl Mata Campos, director of the UJA’s Secretariat for Territorial Development; Luis Jesús García-Lomas Pousibet, head of strategic management at Caja Rural de Jaén; Manuel Fernández, deputy delegate of the Spanish Government; Jesús Estrella, delegate of the Regional Government of Andalusia; Francisco Reyes, president of the Provincial Council of Jaén; and Abderraouf Laajimi, deputy executive director of the International Olive Council.
The report was presented by Manuel Parras Rosa, Director of the ‘Cátedra’ and a researcher at the University Institute of Research on Olive Grove and Olive Oils (INUO) at the University of Jaén. During his presentation, he highlighted that the most striking aspect of the 2024/25 campaign is the significant decline in olive oils prices. This decline is not justified by market conditions, but rather by the management of expectations within the sector and the absence of coordination among producers. The report notes that prices at source fell sharply in November 2024 and continued to fall until June this year, which is the latest month for which data was available at the time of writing.
In terms of structure, the Report maintains sections from previous years dedicated to analysing the evolution of the olive oils value chain, regulatory developments affecting the marketing of olive oils, and noteworthy news (Part I); the analysis of supply—olive groves, olive oils, and prices (Part II); the study of global and Spanish demand and consumption of olive oils, as well as foreign trade (Part III); and ICT and olive growing (Part IV).
In this edition, section V takes on special relevance as it includes three monographic studies dedicated to the analysis of key issues. The first focuses on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), continuing the analysis of the monographic studies presented in the previous two years and also delving deeper into organic olive growing. The second monograph analyses the situation and evolution of Portuguese olive growing, considered an example of modernisation and expansion of super-intensive olive groves, supported by the availability of water and professionalisation, which has led to a new understanding of the olive oil production process, affecting the design of oil mills.
Finally, this section concludes with the third monographic study, which analyses the added value of PDO regulatory council certification for virgin olive oils due to their distinctive quality.
Source: ‘Diario Digital de la Universidad de Jaén’ https://diariodigital.ujaen.es/investigacion-y-transferencia/la-catedra-caja-rural-de-jaen-jose-luis-garcia-lomas-hernandez-de (18/12/2025)
