climatic challenges, but production in RS maintains quality and seeks expansion

Thinking about olive oil in Brazil was an unimaginable reality just a few years ago. The culture has great prominence and tradition in countries such as Spain, Greece and Italy, and has found good results in the tropical climate. The first olive cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul (today the largest producing state, responsible for around 70% of the total) dates back to the 1950s.

Ambassador Batista Luzardo planted 72 thousand plants in Uruguaiana, on the Western Border, becoming the largest olive grove in Brazil in one period. At that time, the Department of Agriculture of Rio Grande do Sul examined the olives and olive oil produced in the laboratory, verifying that they were not inferior to the Italian ones. From then on, the department began to encourage the planting of olive trees in the state.

But it was not until 2005 that the research space was expanded. Embrapa Temperate Climate implemented 25 experimental observation units; each was composed of three trees of 30 cultivars, totaling 90 plants. The project also carried out climatic zoning for cultivation in Rio Grande do Sul, as well as the implementation of a germplasm bank with 56 defined cultivars and ten undefined accessions, in addition to identifying and monitoring the main pests and diseases that attack the crop.

The olive groves began to give results. In these almost twenty years of cultivation, new areas and regions gained orchards. According to the Radiography of Agropecuária Gaúcha, there are currently 6.2 thousand hectares planted, half of which are already in production. In the 23/24 harvest, 193.1 thousand liters of olive oil were produced. The olive oil is extracted in 25 oil mills spread across the production regions.

The largest plantations are found in the municipalities of Encruzilhada do Sul, Pinheiro Machado, Canguçu, Caçapava do Sul, São Sepé, Cachoeira do Sul, Santana do Livramento, Bagé, São Gabriel, Viamão and Sentinela do Sul. Since 2019, there has been a law state. created the “Rota das Oliveiras”, which encompasses 40 municipalities, and seeks to encourage and promote the cultivation of olive groves. Obstacles still include the high initial cost of the investment and the time to start production, on average from the fifth year.

Harvest of climate challenges

The record production of olive oil in Rio Grande do Sul occurred in the 2022/23 cycle, when 580 thousand liters were extracted. In the last cycle, the state had a 67% reduction in production. The cause was a cyclone that occurred in September, with very high volumes of rain, affecting flowering.

For 2024/25 there is a new low expectation, due to flooding in May and wet weather in September.

Producer Rosane Coradini Abdala, from Caçapava do Sul (RS), highlights that more investment in research is needed to find varieties more adapted to the state’s climatic problems.

“Next year we already see that we will have a low harvest, lower than previous ones. We have already sought research resources from entities to have varieties more adapted to our climate. In Portugal, for example, varieties with acidic soil are planted, as is our case. There are also varieties that tolerate humidity better, which is also our problem,” he highlights.

Festival celebrates olive oil

This weekend, the city of Caçapava do Sul, in Campanha, one of the largest producers of olive oil in the state, hosts the 3rd Olive Oil Festival. The event began on Friday (29) and will continue until Sunday (1), in Largo Farroupilha.

There is an exhibition of local olive oils, crafts and family farming products typical of the municipality, one of the oldest in Rio Grande do Sul and considered a World Geopark by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Culture (Unesco).

According to the Brazilian Olive Growing Institute (Ibraoliva), the city is one of those that invests the most in olive growing, another important aspect of culture. Tourists can visit olive groves, experience the harvest, and stay at inns located on the properties. This year the event is held later due to the calamity that the state experienced.

“We could not stop strengthening this activity, so as not to lose our identity. We maintain our quality purpose and Caçapava do Sul is a promotion and awards center. With tourism we add value and there is already interest in expanding and creating new brands,” says the president of the entity, Renato Fernandes.

Quality and excellence

There are more than 100 brands of olive oil in the state of Rio Grande do Sul. Of them, at least 11 stood out with awards in contests around the world, due to the quality of their products.

Now, representative entities of the sector seek to clarify to consumers the difference between imported and national olive oils. Ibraoliva is working to eliminate the word “extra virgin” from the labels of imported olive oils.

“I think we had an institutional gain. The government recognized this problem. They are virgin olive oils and not extra virgin, and we have many fakes (around 80% of what comes). In that sense, this year was positive. But more imported olive oil will enter Brazil because we produce around 1.5% of our domestic consumption demand and we will still have a smaller harvest. We are concerned about the quality of what will arrive here,” explains producer Rosane.

Since 2021, sensory analysis of olive oils has helped identify fraud. The panel operates at the Federal Agricultural Defense Laboratory of Rio Grande do Sul (LFDA-RS) and is recognized by the International Olive Oil Council (IOC).

The sensory panel is made up of a group of people trained periodically to taste olive oil and identify aromas and flavors in it. The action is complementary to physical-chemical laboratory analyzes and is essential to determine whether an olive oil is truly extra virgin or not.