Summary
Early estimates on October 31 point to a considerable increase in the yield of olive groves with increments of around 40% for olives for olive oil and 25% for table olives. An encouraging scenario is also foreseen for maize, anticipating a very productive campaign, which should exceed 900,000 tons, which had not been seen since 2001. Apple and pear orchards should increase their production (+30% and +70%, respectively), just as sweet chestnut orchards (+20%), well improved with the rainfall of September. On the contrary, rice harvests were less productive (-10%), and processed tomato was highly affected by adverse weather conditions, with production falling by 20%. In kiwi, with poor pollination and serious disease problems, it is expected a reduction in production of 10%, while almond should record one of the worst campaigns in decades. Wine production forecasts point to a maintenance of production, with a decrease of the quality of musts obtained after the earlier rains.