Shoppers may find themselves doing a double take in the olive oil section of their local grocery stores these days, as industry analysts say prices have reached a record high.
Prices for extra virgin olive oil in stores across Canada have increased an average 25.6 per cent since January alone, ranging from $13.99 to $24.99 per litre nationwide, according to data collected between Dec. 31 and May 13 by the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and viewed by CBC News.
That’s on top of the already-skyrocketing prices consumers have stomached recently as growers in Europe contend with drought, wildfires, floods and other affects of climate change.
In Canada, the average price for one litre has more than doubled over the past three years, from $6.62 in March 2021 to $15.93 in March 2024, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent monthly average retail prices — a 140 per cent increase.
The worldwide shortage has led to supermarkets in Spain locking up the liquid gold to prevent theft and, reportedly, to Italians reducing their consumption of the mainstay of the Mediterranean diet.
Meanwhile, consumers are experiencing sticker shock.
“Sorry but wtf is going on with the price of olive oil??” a U.K. woman wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in April, alongside a grocery store photo showing prices ranging up to 13.85 pounds for a litre (about $22.39 Cdn).
The challenges in olive oil production have been nothing short of a crisis in Spain, the world’s largest producer, where production was down 62 per cent last year, according to international olive oil expert Fil Bucchino, who is based in Toronto.
Sorry but wtf is going on with the price of olive oil?? pic.twitter.com/y5R8bufqnA
“The Mediterranean has endured three consecutive years of difficult harvests, with a slew of factors from weather to geopolitical issues culminating in a perfect storm during the last harvest,” Bucchino told CBC News.
“This is another wake-up call regarding our relationship with nature and our drive for profits.”
Production plummets, prices soar
Bad weather has also hit olive crops in other major growers like Greece, Italy and Portugal. Greece and Spain have both seen sales plummet by one-third over the last year, according to industry estimates reported by The Associated Press.
Other contributing factors include supply-chain disruptions, and inflationary increases in the prices of fertilizers, transport, gas and electricity, which in turn, have affected production and logistics costs, Bucchino said.
The price of olive oil has nearly doubled in the last two years, in part because olive farmers are facing a new set of challenges. CBC’s Megan Williams travelled to Puglia, Italy, and breaks down the factors contributing to the rising cost of olive oil.
Global production fell from 3.4 million tonnes in 2022 to 2.5 million tonnes last year, and it’s…
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