Spain’s Olive-Oil Exports, World’s Biggest, Rose 5.8% in 2011-12

Spain’s olive oil exports, the world’s biggest, rose 5.8 percent in the year through September, farm and food-industry group Cooperativas Agro-Alimentarias reported, citing government data.

Shipments climbed to 875,460 metric tons in 2011-12 from 827,711 tons in the previous year, the Madrid-based group wrote in a report on its website today.

Spain has predicted olive-oil output will fall 58 percent this year to 673,700 tons from 1.6 million tons last year, after the country had its second-driest summer in 60 years.

Exports to Italy, the biggest single customer for Spanish olive oil, fell to 382,425 tons in 2011-12 from 409,390 tons a year earlier, according to the report.

To contact the reporter on this story: Rudy Ruitenberg in Paris at rruitenberg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Claudia Carpenter at ccarpenter2@bloomberg.net