.. the Italian product is down 36 per cent annually, while stocks from the EU are up 57.2 per cent, indicating a growing reliance on imports. Italy faces structural challenges: plant diseases such as Xylella [which has affected Italy's most important olive-growing region and will not give up], prolonged drought, extreme weather events and afragmented agriculture According to the most recent data, Italy produced around 240,000 tonnes of olive oil in the 2024/2025 campaign, down 90,000 tonnes from the previous year. However, domestic demand amounts to about 850-900,000 tonnes per year (domestic consumption of 550,000, plus 300-350,000 tonnes for export. This results in a structural deficit of at least 610-660 thousand tonnes, covered through imports, mainly from Tunisia, Spain, Greece and other EU and non-EU countries... In essence, Italian oil covers roughly 27% of requirements (domestic consumption and exports). On this subject , olive oil is a good parameter for assessing the static nature of Italian agriculture, but also because the oil we put on the table is often very bad. Worth mentioning: a bill defining Italian extra virgin quality for the first time even though, unfortunately, Italian oil and supermarkets have once again become INCOMPATIBLE. Below: Xylella and undercutting are two of the many problems of extra virgin oil Compiled 21 June, updated 8 August 2025