Olive groves continue to expand steadily throughout Spain

The area of land allocated for the cultivation of olives in Spain continues to increase. Last 2021, the number of olive groves in Spain increased by 19,230 hectares. The greatest growth was observed in the Canary Islands and in Castile and Leone.

Olive groves spread over 2,770,485 hectares - an area slightly larger than North Macedonia or the state of Massachusetts - in the world's largest olive oil producing country, which is 0.7% more than in 2020. Of these groves, almost 93% – 2,573,396 hectares - are allocated for the production of olive oil.

Olives are grown commercially in 15 of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain (except Asturias and Cantabria). In all but two of these communities (Basque Country and Galicia), the area of olive groves increased in 2020 and 2021. The largest increase in olive groves was observed in the Canary Islands, as well as in Castile and Leone - plus 15% and 12%, respectively.

In total, the number of organic olive groves has also grown, where chemical fertilizers are not used.