Spanish fears of ‘liquid gold’ olive oil disaster

AFTER destroying entire olive groves in Italy, the first case of the destructive bacterium Xylella fastidiosa has been confirmed on mainland Spain, worrying farmers in the land where olive oil is liquid gold.

“Clearly, we are not going to be able to stop this; it’s a question of time before it reaches us,” said Luis Carlos Valero, leader of the ASAJA farmers’ union in Jaén, after the plague was detected in Alicante last week.

The fact that the first affected plant was an almond tree is no consolation for olive growers; more than 300 European plant species have proved to be susceptible to Xylella. In Italy around a million trees are reported to have been killed by “olive quick decline syndrome”.

In Spain, which has 350 million trees and where half of the world’s olive oil is produced, industry representatives fear the impact could be catastrophic.

“We should try not to overdramatise, but the situation is worrying,” said Eduardo López, a spokesman for the COAG farmers’ union.

“It’s very important that the government compensates affected farmers because, otherwise, many will be tempted to keep it quiet to avoid losing their crop,” argued Ramón Mampel from the Valencia ULR union.

“That’s what happened in Italy; the producers did not want to lose money and they kept their mouths shut, and now they find themselves absolutely ruined and with two million olive trees to be ripped out.”

The regional government has followed EU guidelines when faced with the destructive bacterium, clearing all plants in a 100m radius around a dozen affected almond trees in Alicante.

But there is no agreement on compensation, with the standard maximum offered by Valencia of €7,429 (£6,572) for each hectare lost falling well short of the €27,000 maximum demanded by growers.

“This could be a huge disaster if we don’t act immediately when we detect the first sign,” warned Mr Valero.