Spain orders olive mills to store 12% of 2026/2027 oil output, about 188,000 tonnes

What the government ordered

Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food published a resolution in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) on Friday, 6 November 2026, requiring olive mills to keep 12% of their olive oil off the market during the 2026/2027 campaign. The withdrawal covers about 188,000 tonnes and took effect the same day. The oil must stay in storage, either at the mills' own facilities or at third-party facilities, until 30 September 2027. Each mill applies the 12% to its accumulated monthly output, starting with the production it declares for November. The mills may choose which category of olive oil to withhold.

Why the ministry acted

The ministry tied the decision to a harvest forecast of 1,602,596 tonnes for 2026/2027, drawn from figures submitted by the autonomous communities, which is 23% above the previous year. If the forecast holds, it would be the fourth-largest harvest in the historical record. Initial stocks for the campaign stand at 357,040 tonnes, up 23.3% on the previous period, according to operator data in the Sistema de Información de los Mercados Oleícolas (SIMO), which the ministry published on 28 October. Added together, the two volumes reach 120% of the average output of the last six campaigns, the threshold set in the ministerial order for activating the withdrawal. The ministry credited mild spring temperatures and heavy rainfall with good flowering and fruit set in the main producing areas.

Prices and producers

Olive oil prices have dropped sharply. El País reported that extra virgin olive oil is trading around three euros per kilo, one euro below a year earlier and well short of the five-euro level that producers treat as the break-even threshold. Francisco Elvira, who heads olive-growing at the COAG farmers' union, said oil is currently being paid at source at just over three euros, which does not cover production costs. He added that the Food Chain Law is not being respected in new contracts. COAG has asked the ministry and the Agency for Food Control and Information to carry out inspections on their own initiative. According to El País, the activation follows a long campaign by producers.

Industry and regulator pushback

The National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC) has never supported this kind of intervention. It has warned that the measure could have very negative effects on competition and consumers, and it recommended that the government justify the decision with demand and trade-flow data. The ministry responds that it applied objective technical criteria aimed at effectiveness and at avoiding negative impacts on competition, and that it consulted the autonomous communities and sector players. El País also reports that the mechanism has been questioned by the industry, by bottlers and by the competition authority. El Confidencial notes that Spain transposed the framework in 2021 by royal decree, describing it as a temporary measure to be structured each year according to harvest conditions.

What happens next

The order set 20% as the maximum withdrawal, a ceiling that El Confidencial reports was not needed. Each mill must declare its monthly production and its final stocks through the usual reporting channels. Withdrawn volumes stay off the market until 30 September 2027, and production declared from November onward falls under the scheme.