Shortages and rising prices are hurting families in Spain, Italy and Greece, where olive oil has been a way of life for thousands of years
On his small farm in Umbria, in central Italy, Fausto Venturi glides his fingers along the slender branches of one of his olive trees. At this time of year – about two months before the start of the harvest – the branches should be full of ripening Moraiolo olives, the small, round, green fruit indigenous to Umbria and Tuscany that is prized for making high-quality, emerald-green virgin olive oil.
Olives ripen on trees on a property a few kilometres away from Fausto Venturi farm in Umbria, in central Italy.Mr. Venturi, 44, and the other farmers near Spoleto, a medieval gem of a city and a UNESCO heritage site, face a disastrous, money-losing harvest. Oil prices will go up – they are soaring to record levels in several Mediterranean countries as severe shortages develop – but not to the point that they will cover the expected plunge in production.
Olive-growing problems are no longer unusual in Italy – or the rest of the Mediterranean – as weather patterns change. Mr. Venturi uses a trashing rake, powered by an air compressor, to shake Moraiolo olives to the ground.The shortages and soaring prices in Southern Europe are hurting families. In Spain, Italy, Greece and other Mediterranean countries, olive oil is a way of life – has been for thousands of years. The Greeks believed the goddess Athena created the olive tree, and Greek poet Homer called it “liquid gold.” Oil production and exports became economic mainstays of the Roman empire.
France Dernières Nouvelles, France Actualités
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