Producers in Spain Cap Strong Harvest with Quality Awards

A wet and mild winter and spring in 2024 provided relief to Spanish growers after consecutive years of high spring temperatures and water shortage resulted in two historically poor harvests. Overall, growers from the southern Spanish region of Andalusia, the world’s largest olive oil producer by a marked margin, combined to win 60 awards at the World Competition.

In the southeastern Andalusian province of Almería, the team behind OleoAlmanzora celebrated winning its debut World Competition accolade, a Silver Award for a medium Arbequina. Andalusia is responsible for the majority of Spanish olive oil production.

Still, growers, millers and distributors in five of the country’s other regions also celebrated winning World Competition accolades. Two producers in the Balearic Islands and Extremadura combined to win two awards at the 2025 NYIOOC.

Meanwhile, 12 producers and distributors combined to win 17 awards in Catalonia. Eight producers in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha won ten awards, including Olivapalacios .

The Ciudad Real-based business earned two Gold Awards for an Arbequina and a Picual. Ciudad Real-based Olivapalacios continued its legacy of success at the NYIOOC with two Gold Awards. (Photo: Olivapalacios) “These awards act as an indisputable seal of quality and attract the attention of consumers and distributors; it can also justify a higher price for the product, recognizing the excellence and effort behind it,” export manager Luís Rubio stated.

While he acknowledged that the ongoing water shortage and a few heat waves at critical moments resulted in increased irrigation. Other challenges, Rubio stated the firm had a very good crop. “For us, it was a good harvest; the quality was excellent, and in terms of quantity, there was a slight increase compared to the previous year,” he stated. In northern Spain, three producers in Navarre , including the team at Bodega Nekeas , combined to win four awards .

Spain’s northernmost producer of scale, boasting 215 hectares of olive groves, earned a Gold Award for its endemic Arróniz monovarietal and a Silver for an Arbequina. In the northerly Nekeas Valley, Bodega Nekeas celebrates its particular terroir despite its challenges. (Photo – Bodega Nekeas). “Our olive grove and vineyard are in the Nekeas Valley, the northernmost area in Spain for olive growing,” export manager Carlos Biurrun told reporters. “We are also located at an altitude of 420 to 650 meters, which makes for harsher cold and wet weather conditions.

Navarre has a long tradition of gourmet food production, and extra virgin olive oil is part of Navarre’s rich offering.” Back in Andalusia, the founder of Villa Gaspar celebrated winning a Gold Award for its medium Picual, its third World Competition recognition since 2022. Villa Gaspar overcame higher labor and agricultural input costs to once again produce a world-class quality Picual monovarietal. (Photo – Villa Gaspar) “Winning a Gold Award at the NYIOOC was an incredible honor and deeply emotional for us,” José Javier Anguís Horno told reporters. “Receiving such a prestigious recognition validates all the passion, hard work, and care we put into every step of our process. After a fruitful 2024 harvest, the makers at Aires de Jaén anticipate another good one later this year. (Photo: Aires de Jaén) “We’ve had a rainy winter, and spring is also bringing us very good wet weather.

We’ve had a lot of rainfall since autumn 2024, and it’s continuing,” Biurrun of Bodega Nekeas concluded. “We hope the temperature rises and calms down by June. The flowering season and average temperature will determine the harvest, as there’s usually excess water here (except in 2022).”