Despite experiencing one of the worst olive harvests in recent history, Italy maintained its position as the second-most-awarded country at the 2015 New York International Olive Oil Competition last week, just behind Spain.
Italian producers were stung by a series of challenges during the 2014/2015 harvest season, chief among them a bacterial blight that wiped out around 40 percent of production and led to a more than doubling of the price of Italian extra virgin. Many Italian producers were not able to produce any olive oil at all this season.
Source: http://www.oliveoiltimes.com/
