Olive prices jump amid early harvest season

ANBAR, September 11 — Olive prices are up in western Anbar after an early harvest season this year, due to rising temperatures, with high demand from area  customers.

Yousef Ibrahim, an engineer with the local Department of Agriculture told 964 that harvesting typically beginds in early to mid September, but farmers began picking olives in August this year. The early harvest has led to a jump in prices, which were typically 750 Iraqi dinars per kilogram in previous years. This year, prices have jumped to 1,250 dinars per kilogram.

“This year’s production is similar to the quantities of the previous year, with each tree yielding about 50 kilograms, subject to variation, depending on the size of the tree and the environment it grows in,” Ibrahim explained.

Local customer Saif Firas said his family usually buys large quantities to make pickles and preserve for the winter. Olives from Anbar’s Al-Baghdadi district are especially in-demand because of their preferred taste and quality, he added.

“The price difference isn’t significant, so I will buy the usual amount I do every year,” he said.