A low yield is expected from the 2021 olive harvest in Palestine in comparison with the previous years.
The annual olive harvest which takes place every year between October and November is not only a key economic event for Palestinians but also a cultural and social event.
Every year the farmer Daoud Abdullah and his family spend long hours picking olives in their olive grove amid a very warm and lovely family atmosphere.
Abdullah told the PIC reporter that producing your family’s annual need of olive oil makes you feel comfortable and safe.
The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture expects a total of 15000 tons of olive oil including 3000 tons stored last year.
In the West Bank and Gaza Strip more than 13 million olive trees are cultivated on approximately 885072 dunums of land.
Fares el-Jabi Palestine’s foremost expert on olive trees said that the estimated low yield this year is due to the further decline in rainfall and increased drought in the region over the past ten years which negatively affect the harvest.
He also pointed to the alternate fruit-bearing “on and off seasons” where 2021 was expected to be a good harvest season as 2020’s was bad. However this year’s harvest season remains below expectations.
This was coupled with poor rainfall distribution where rain stopped falling for more than 20 days in February and temperature extremes during the growing cycle affecting the pollen grain viability.
