Once home to some 20 olive presses, the
Algarve this year expects to reap some 5.5
thousand tonnes of olives with just five
presses legally working.
Even though figures in quantity have
risen since last year, the levels of acidity
and natural fat have shown to be above the
recommended amounts.
According to Castelão Rodrigues, head of
the regional Agriculture and Fisheries
Association DRAPAlg, this is due to
"Mediterranean flies, a ‘gafa' fungus, and
heat", adding that, as the last of this
season's olives are reaped this month, the
best variety produced this year is the
Algarvean ‘maçanilha', so called due to its
larger size and shape of an apple – a maça.
Castelão Rodrigues visited two of the
region's five olive oil producers to gain
insight from their workers.
Renato Rocha, head of ‘Alberto Rocha', an
olive pressing company that has been
operational for more than 100 years, said,
"It was a bad harvest. People did not treat
their olives properly and there were
parasites and funguses to contend with".
Santa Catarina's Fonte do Bispo farming
cooperative received more than 600 tonnes of
olives during last season's campaign and
also complained of poor quality and high
levels of acidity in the final product.
