The colossus is staggering. The Spain of oil risks a fall down

Spain is the world leader in oil production ad so it will remain, but the crisis is very hard. Only in the Jean region, the economic damage to olive farmers is more than 300 million of euro

by T N

It is no longer the Spanish Armada. The signs of a deep crisis in the Spanish olive world are many. We talked about this subject many times but now the numbers are clear and alarming.

According to the agricultural organization Coag, the decrease in the extra virgin olive oil price caused an economic damage to the olive farmers of the Jean province that can be estimated in 318 million of euro. As a matter of fact, the average olive price was 2.648,14 € per ton in the period 2004-2008 but it was 1.939,44 per ton only in the year 2009.

The main problem for the farmers is not how to survive with so small selling quotations but how to pay taxes. According to the Coag the tax offices didn’t revise their lists and are taxing the farmers for a commercial volume bigger than the actual one.

As a matter of fact, by considering a production of 450.000 tons for the period 2004-2008, the total sales were 1.200 million of euros circa. In 2009, by considering the new quotations, the actual income is 872 million only. Hence the farmers should have to pay taxes (at a 32% rate) on a passive of 318 million of euro; 101 million of euro paid on non-existent incomes.

Hence the last battle of Coag, fighting for making the farmers pay taxes on the actual income and not on the presumed one. According to the Coam secretary-general of Jean, Rafael Civantos, “it is completely unfair that farmers have to pay taxes on non-existing incomes; the tax office should go deep in the crisis that affects our province”.

The local farmers are not the only one in pain for this crisis; the situation of some industrial groups is comparable. For instance, Sos Cuerta in the middle of the financial crisis that haunts it reports a decrease in the sale of bottled oil in Spain of the 21.3%. The situation for the industry is particularly difficult since they lost the leadership in the selling volume of olive oil, as well. According to Alimarket, in 2009 the sale were reduced of the 9,6%, arriving to 78,5 million of liters, allowing the Portuguese competitor Sovena to leader the market with 82 million of liters. All the same, the Sos Cuerta, chaired by Mariano Pérez Claver, remains the leader for oils of first squeezing. Even if the sales were reduced of the 33,6%, arriving to 75,3 million of liters, it is still before Sovena, which sold 58 million of liters.

The only positive news for Sos Cuetara comes from abroad, were the selling volume passed from 11,2 million of liters in 2008 to 12 million in 2009.