The new organic olive oil mill in Sóller: when farmers and the Administration row in the same direction

The San Bartolomé de Sóller Cooperative – the oldest in Spain at 126 years old – now has an organic olive mill. This project stems from collaboration between farmers and the government with the aim of improving the quality of the island's olive oil, which "is increasingly competing in a better market and must raise the bar, which is already very high," explains Mique, president of both the San Bartolomé de Sóller Cooperative and the Camp Mallorquí Cooperative. Added to this is the desire to give a boost to the island's industry. "And what better way to do it than through the organic sector?" he asks. The Cooperative's new mill boasts "superior" technology compared to other facilities of its kind on the island, according to Gual. In fact, it will produce extra virgin olive oil using two stages instead of three. Furthermore, thanks to the design of the olive mill and the purchase of a machine financed by the Consell de Mallorca (Mallorca Council) with approximately €60,000, the waste generated during the oil production process will no longer go to the wastewater treatment plant as had been the case until now. In addition, the surplus will be used as fertilizer in the fields. Furthermore, anyone interested in this nitrogen- and potassium-rich product will be able to purchase it in 1,000-liter containers.

The project has been financially successful thanks to a grant program offered by the Conselleria de Agricultura (Regional Ministry of Agriculture), which financed up to 70% of the costs. However, Gual explains that the Cooperative's board of directors had to allocate their limited funds, initially earmarked for the olive mill, to an orange sorting machine. "It was broken down, and we didn't have another one," he says. But the idea of setting up an organic olive oil mill in Sóller never faded, so Gual continued seeking funding to open it as soon as possible.

"I went to the Regional Ministry and made it clear that we couldn't handle the expense of this project, because I didn't want to drag the Cooperative into financial trouble," he recalls. However, he sought help from private companies, such as Son Moragues, which were willing to collaborate on the cooperative project that Gual was proposing. This resulted in an "interesting snapshot," according to Gual: "Public institutions, private companies, and farmers with a common goal."

For his part, the president of Tramuntana XXI and also one of the managers of the Son Moragues farm, Joe Holles, believes that "everything done at the Cooperative is for the common good." He also thinks that cooperativism "is a very convenient way of working" and, at the same time, "an ideal vehicle for fixing agriculture." In his opinion, Simonet emphasizes that one of the advantages of this business model and the olive mill is knowing that "this company will never leave Mallorca because it is tied to the territory."

The inauguration of this project coincides with a good year for the olive harvest. It is worth remembering that for the 2024-2025 campaign 1,385.86 tons of olives were harvested in the Islands, 78.62% less than the previous year, which producers described as "the best in history" when 6,478.48 tons were harvested. This year, in just two weeks, "40% of last season's total" has already been harvested, Gual celebrates.