2024-08-22 08:17:28
The Spanish turned to sunflower oil, due to the rising prices of olive oil.
Although olive oil is considered the “king” in the kitchens of Spain, the largest producer of olive oil in the world, consumers have been forced to turn to cheaper options.
The Spanish bought 107 million liters of all types of olive oil in the first half of 2024 compared to 179 million liters of sunflower oil, according to Spain’s largest olive oil bottling association, Anierac.
To date, olive oil has been the most popular cooking oil in Spanish households, accounting for 62% of sales by volume in 2023, while sunflower oil accounted for almost 34%, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Households only bought olive oil
“It is clear that olive oil consumption is declining in Spain,” said Primitivo Fernandez, Anierac’s spokesman. “There are households that used to buy only olive oil and for the first time are now buying sunflower oil and olive oil,” he added.
Olive oil sales by volume fell 18% from the first half of 2023says Anierac. Sales of sunflower oil rose 25% by volume last year, according to official figures.
A bottle of sunflower oil cost an average of 1.86 euros a liter last year, while the most expensive types of olive oil cost 6 euros a litre, 50% more than in 2022, according to official data.
The effects of heat and prolonged drought
Spain normally supplies about 40% of the world’s olive oil, but spring heat waves and a prolonged drought have reduced olive harvests in recent years, causing olive oil prices to double to record levels.
That was the result poor Spanish households find it difficult to procure the basic ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, choosing the cheapest sunflower oil, according to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture on trends in food consumption in 2023.
At the end of last year, olive oil was mainly consumed by middle- and upper-class households, the report noted.
The price
Last year, one-litre bottles of extra virgin olive oil sold for around €14.50 in some supermarkets, putting them among the categories of retail products that carry safety labels.
In June, the Spanish government cut VAT on olive oil to make it more affordable, even if prices have fallen slightly this year.
Spain’s biggest supermarket chain Mercadona has cut the price of olive oil by 25% this year and this week is offering 1 liter bottles for under 7 euros, aiming to reach out to consumers, a company source said.
Sources: AMPE, Reuters