Climatic events are expected to impact the olive harvest in 2024

The conditions for the next harvest, the research conducted for olive growing in Rio Grande do Sul and data on production for the 2023 harvest were the topics discussed during the meeting of the Oliviculture Sector Chamber this Wednesday (8/11). The meeting was part of the program of the 28th Brazilian Fruit Culture Congress, which takes place in Pelotas until Friday (10/11).

The olive harvest begins in February 2024, but the climatic factors faced in the winter and spring of 2023 already allow us to predict that productivity will not be the same as this year, when 580 thousand liters of olive oil were produced in RS.

“We had a winter with one of the lowest rates of cold units in recent years. And we also had, in September, three cyclones, strong winds, and an impressive amount of rain. These are two unfavorable events for culture”, explained the coordinator of the sectoral chamber, Paulo Lipp.

Lipp demonstrated, with data from a historical series from 2018 to 2023, that there is a strong correlation between accumulated chilling hours, the amount of precipitation in spring and crop productivity.

“In conversations with producers, in the most optimistic perspectives, we are estimating a 30% reduction in production, compared to the 2023 harvest”, informed olive growing consultant Fabrício Carlotto.

Olive grove location maps in RS

The supervisor of agricultural information at IBGE in Rio Grande do Sul, Fernanda Assaife de Mello, presented data from the Systematic Survey of Agricultural Production, referring to the 2023 harvest.

Rio Grande do Sul is the largest Brazilian producer of olives, accounting for 75,7% of the harvested area in the country. The state currently has a planted area of ​​5.631 hectares – of which 2.564 are in formation and 3.067 are already in production. “In the 2023 harvest, the state’s production was 6.064 tons, with an average yield of 1.980 kilos per hectare”, detailed Fernanda.

The southern half of the state concentrates the municipalities with the highest olive production: Cachoeira do Sul, Encruzilhada do Sul and Dom Pedrito are the top three. “Highlight goes to Viamão, in the Metropolitan Region, which is in fourth place. Producers in the municipality have been thinking about olive tree production combined with agritourism,” he highlighted.