The olive oil campaign in Castilla-La Mancha closed 2024 with a 34% increase from the previous year

The olive oil campaign is 34 percent above last year's, with more than 90,000 tonnes produced up to 31 December, according to the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Julián Martínez Lizán, during a visit to the mill of the Santísimo Cristo de Villajos Cooperative, in the town of Campo de Criptana, in the province of Ciudad Real.

These figures ‘confirm the forecast of a good season’, which could reach the figure of 140,000 tonnes already forecast, ‘higher than the average for the last decade’, he pointed out.

The Regional Minister has had the opportunity to see first-hand how the season is developing in this cooperative, which has been operating for almost 70 years and has 1,300 members. Located in the heart of La Mancha, in recent years it has improved its facilities thanks to two FOCAL grants, promoted by the Government of Castile-La Mancha, which have totalled 140,000 euros for an investment of 700,000 euros.

Martínez Lizán stressed the importance of this line of aid, which is driving the modernisation of the agri-food industries of Castilla-La Mancha with 293 million euros in aid for nearly 1,000 projects, which have mobilised an investment of 1,272 million euros. ‘This means that for every euro of public aid we invest, more than four euros are mobilised,’ he said.

In fact, he recalled that ‘this February we are going to publish a new call for FOCAL aid, which will be endowed with 80 million euros, the highest figure we have ever announced for this line, which demonstrates the commitment to the sector of the Government of President Emiliano García-Page and the concern of the sector to continue modernising and transforming agri-food production processes’.

Martínez Lizán toured the cooperative together with its president, Hermenegildo Elvira, and members of the governing council; the Delegate for Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development, Amparo Bremad; the local mayor, Santiago Lázaro; and part of the municipal corporation.