Some cash-strapped Italians are turning to cheaper seed oils instead (Picture: Getty Images)
These days, it’s hard to name something that hasn’t gone up in price.
But perhaps only second to energy costs… and rent… and mortgage costs… okay, maybe somewhere in the top 10, is olive oil.
In the UK, an average 500ml bottle of olive oil will set a shopper back £7.45 – a thumping 38% higher than this time last year, when it was £5.39. (And that was already about half higher than it was the year before that.)
As much as Italy’s inflation rate is just 0.90% compared to Britain’s 4%, Italians have also seen the cost of the gold stuff rise.
So much so that a new survey found one in three Italians have reduced their consumption of extra virgin olive oil.
Half of the five hundred consumers surveyed told Istituto Piepoli, a research institution, that they have cut back on olive oil consumption by as much as 30%.
Global prices for the oil have soared after a sizzling heat wave wrecked harvests last year (Picture: Getty Images)
While 40% said they have halved how much they drizzle on their salads or use to fry tomatoes in.
With average Italian supermarket prices for olive oil rising 4.0 euros (£3.41) to 9.0 euros (£7.66) a bottle, nearly half surveyed said they’re reaching for cheaper seed oils instead.
However, when asked how much a good quality bottle of olive oil should cost, half of those interviewed said seven euros.
Piepoli CEO Sara Merigo was quoted by the financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore as saying: ‘In Italy, oil has always been a product widely consumed by citizens and the reduction in consumption on the one hand, combined with the transformation of habits on the other, will have a long-term impact on a sector that represents true Italian excellence.’
Amid extreme weather worsened by climate change, global olive oil prices have soared to record levels, doubling over the past year.
In 2023, Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, saw a severe drought leave harvests for the fruit in ruins. Olive farmers in Italy, Greece and Portugal were also hit.
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Just like the oil in the ground, olive oil is a pretty sought-after commodity.
Thefts of the golden bottles have soared in Greece and Spain especially, all while sales plummeted by one-third in both countries.
David Granieri, president of the Unaprol olive-growing consortium that represents half of Italy’s production, feels differently, however.
He stressed that industry data showed domestic sales of extra virgin olive oil made in Italy, which can cost up to 14 euros (£11.92) a litre, were up 8% in the first two months of this year.
‘Olive oil is not a commodity. It is a nutrient that is at the heart of the Mediterranean diet and that plays a fundamental role also socially,’ he said.
‘This is something that is keenly felt in Italy.’
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