The price of olive oil is expected to plummet according to one of the main olive oil companies in Spain, after a long and steep climb over the last two years.
Olive oil consumers can finally breathe a sigh of relief as prices should start to drop significantly from September this year, claims Víctor Roig, General Director of Deoleo, in statements to 'elEconomista', an online newspaper focusing on national and worlsdwide economy.
Roig is confident that olive oil prices will fall to levels close to those in 2021, to between 3 and 4 Euros per litre.
The impact of the inflation of olive oil was reflected in the fall in consumption, with the percentage of households consuming olive oil falling from 81.8% to 78.1% in the last year, representing a reduction of half a million consumers. This downward trend is visible in data from the Price Observatory, which indicate an increase in the price of virgin olive oil for consumers by around 2% in the first quarter of this year and more than 49% compared to 2023.
From the beginning of this year until March 25th, the price of virgin olive oil went from 8.67 euros per litre to 8.85 euros, an increase of just over 2%.
Comparatively, in March 2023, the price was 5.92 euros per litre, which represents an increase of more than 49% in a year.
In the case of extra virgin olive oil, the increase was even more pronounced, with an increase of more than 10% in the first three months of the year, reaching 9.78 euros per litre at the end of March. Between April 2023 and March 2024, the price rose 67.5%.
Regarding production, between January 29th and March 25th this year, the value of bottled olive oil increased by 2.63%, going from 9.12 euros to 9.36 euros per litre. In April 2023, the price per litre was 5.96 euros, which translates into an increase of 57%.
The most recent data indicates that the price of olives for olive oil was at 0.87 euros per kilogram (kg) at the beginning of January this year, below the 1.05 euros per kg recorded in October 2023. However, this price has grown more than 7% between December 2023 and January 2024, going from 0.81 euros to 0.87 euros per kg.
With these price drop forecasts, consumers could see relief in their family budget. Roig, cited by Executive Digest , highlights that price stabilization could encourage a recovery in consumption, bringing back to the market those who, due to inflation, had reduced their olive oil purchases. The expectation of a sharp drop in prices is a light at the end of the tunnel for a sector that has faced significant challenges in recent years.
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