Cobram Estate OIives: New Boort facility, expansion into California

A European olive oil shortage has presented some big opportunities for Australia’s Cobram Estate.

Cobram Estate Olive orchards near Boort. Photo: Lisa Milne

They say “the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain” — except, that is, during a Mediterranean drought.

More than one third of the world’s olive oil usually derives from Spain but a parched Iberian Peninsula has sent prices soaring.

Management at one of Australia’s best-known olive oil brands, Cobram Estate, says business is booming but the Spanish harvest hiatus is only an indirect factor.

Spain usually pumps out between 1.3 million to 1.5 million metric tons of olive oil each harvest but the latest heat-stricken harvest produced only 666,000 metric tons.

“Of course, the drought in Spain has had an impact on the industry. It is a huge producer of olive oil, but it’s mainly an indirect impact,” Cobram co-chief executive Leandro Ravetti said.

“Clearly there is an environment to our benefit. The producers of the imported product have to increase their pricing; they’ve got a limited ability to promote their product; but there is also sustained demand for olive oil in Australia.”

Australia Olive Association chief executive Michael Southan said the Mediterranean drought has tightened supply and pushed up retail prices worldwide.

“About half of all olive oil bought in Australia is locally produced and that share has increased with the situation in Europe,” he said.

“It’s not just a drought in Spain, although Spain is the most severely affected. Conditions are very dry in Italy and Greece too, pushing up the price of olive oil and making it less profitable to export out of the EU.”

In recent weeks, Cobram officially opened its new $35 million processing mill at Boort — 100 km northwest of Bendigo.

Last year, Cobram boosted its total planting of olive trees at Boort by more than 400 hectares, taking the number of trees planted on site to more than 1.24 million across 3508 hectares.

Mr Ravetti said the Boort facility will be able to process up to 100,000 tonnes of olives each harvest when at full capacity.

He said 30 new full-time jobs will be created by the Boort expansion in the coming four to five year, not just in production but logistics and processing as well.