Global olive oil consumption has grown by 73% over the past 25 years, reaching 2.99 billion kg in 2016, according to research by Italian farmers association Coldiretti.
Italy leads the list of the biggest consumers with 581 million kg, followed by Spain with 490 million kg and the US with 308 million kg, registering a record growth of 250% over the reference period.
However, a growth in consumption was also registered in other important markets such as Japan (+1,400% to 60 million kg), the UK (+763% to 59 million kg), Germany (+465% to 58 million kg), Brazil (+393% to 66.5 million kg), Russia (+320% to 21 million kg) and France (+268% to 103 million kg).
The situation is very different in traditionally producing countries like Italy, where over the past 25 years consumption has remained almost stable (+ 8%); Spain, where there was a small increase (+24%); and Greece. where there has been a drop of 27%.
The global olive oil consumption trend has also benefited Italy with a record 8% increase in olive oil exports in the first eight months of 2016. In fact, exports have increased by 18% to China, by 7% to Japan and by 11% to the US, a market that accounts for almost one-third of Italian olive oil exports.
Supporting this global demand, according to Coldiretti, are the positive health effects associated with the consumption of olive oil, proven by many scientific studies.
The collapse of Italian production has impacted the global market this year has been, dropping by 49% to 243,000 tonnes, with a decisive effect on market prices (+54% since the start of the year).
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
