Olive-oil prices are on the rise, having increased by 20 per cent in 2015 alone, after drought and diseases decimated a large part of Spanish and Italian plantations, with experts now forecasting a similar hike for 2016.
Global olive-oil production has also dropped by 30 per cent, according to the International Olive Council.
Spain, which produces 40 per cent of the world's olive oil, had an unusually hot summer in 2014. This led to the worst harvest in two decades, which forced oil producers to use up reserves.
Similar, though less severe, conditions in 2015 resulted in a weak harvest again, as three weeks of sustained heat in July caused many olives to ripen too soon.
Italy, which produces 20 per cent of the world’s olive-oil supply, has also seen millions of its olive trees destroyed by disease.
European officials have ordered a massive culling of trees in Italy's most affected areas in an attempt to contain the outbreak. However, Italy has decided to spare some trees that are over 500 years old.
The price climb has already begun to resonate. Buyers across the world are looking at alternative oils, and the global consumption of olive oil dropped by 7 per cent in 2015, a trend that is likely to continue in the current year.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Gabriela Guedez. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
