Portugal’s olive harvest could grow by 10% to 15% in Trás-os-Montes, with good fruit yields and more olive oil production, ironically when the shortage of harvest workers is intensifying. Francisco Ribeiro, director of the Association of Olive Growers of Trás-os-Montes (AOTD) and president of the Murça Olive Growers Agricultural Cooperative, told Lusa that an increase of around 10% to 15% in olives is expected – a production above the 2023 harvest, but still below the 2020/2021 figures. It is also expected that the yield will be better than last year, i.e. that it will take fewer kilos of olives to make a litre of oil. This translates into potentially even higher production, he said – possibly by as much as 20%. “The rain in September was essential for creating the fat content,” Ribeiro explained.
Olive harvest could be 10-15% higher than last year
