in the Vaucluse, the olive harvest promises to be very meager in 2022

This is the worst olive harvest for eight years. In an orchard in Beaumes-de-Venise (Vaucluse), they are usually collected using nets and combs. In 2022, they are so few that picking by hand is enough. “From the memory of an olive grower, I never had that“, confides Jean-Paul Vaton. This meager yield is explained by the weather conditions: frost in the spring then a persistent drought, which slowed the development of the fruits and favored the proliferation of flies. “Already there was not a big harvest, there it is even weaker, because of the fly“, he laments.

In the Beaumes-de-Venise sector, the olive recipe fell by 50% to 70%. It affects the 1,200 olive growers in the cooperative. One of them harvested 115 kg this year, compared to 8 tons in 2021. The low production, in addition to the energy crisis and the shortage of glass bottles, should have consequences on the prices of sale to the consumer. “We will tighten the bolts on all sides, we will try to ensure that the increase is as consistent as possible with respect to that which we undergo“, however, specifies Bruno Theuerlacher, olive grower.