Your cart
There are no more items in your cart
Why has the price of extra virgin olive oil increased?
Surely you have heard this question lately. Extra virgin olive oil is in the news because we could say that it has been many years since we have seen similar increases. We are constantly asked this question by our customers. The most loyal and veteran ones talk with nostalgia remembering when the harvests were more abundant and EVOO was very affordable.
Is there a unanimous response to the rise in EVOO prices? We would say yes, but with nuances. Drought is the main reason, the best known by all, although in the extra virgin olive oil sector the price increase is multifactorial. EVOO producers are aware of the situation and the fact is that we are experiencing several unfortunate campaigns, with the 2022-23 harvest being the most damaged.
We go back to 2021. At the end of the confinement, the inflation of prices and the rise of fuel and electricity began as a consequence of the political instability of the invasion of Ukraine and we were forced to adjust our prices to the maximum but always trying that it was not the consumer who assumed the increase. Our profit margins were also reduced in a way that had not been seen for years. This is common to most industrial sectors where there is a shortage of raw materials.
Note: we speak in general terms and on behalf of the olive sector because the practices are very common in all producers and that is why we are always accompanied by a certain feeling of brotherhood, both in the good times and in the less good times. And we do not mean by this that the 2022-23 harvest has been "worse" in terms of quality, as this has remained practically intact. We are fortunate to be dealing with a raw material that comes from the olive tree, a grateful and resistant tree when weather conditions are adverse, as in this case, the lack of humidity. Although the tree is suffering, the quality of the final product is not affected; the drought must be much more pronounced and prolonged in time to notice a detriment to flavor or nutrients. However, it does affect the amount of oil produced. We continue analyzing.
In recent years, the demand for extra virgin olive oil has skyrocketed thanks to the fact that there is more awareness and information about real food (the realfood movement) and the average consumer wants to take care of himself and nourish himself with the best and most natural products from the earth. In addition, extra virgin olive oil is triumphing outside the Mediterranean coasts and now in Asia, North America or the Nordic countries they are replacing other refined oils or butter with Spanish EVOO.
So, with a panorama of high demand, offering less product than in previous harvests makes the market destabilize and prices rise, fearing that the next harvest will be even worse. The fact is that prices are also a good measure of the risk, the forecast or the future of a sector. Accumulating several consecutive years of low rainfall and a year with severe drought make forecasts negative and prices suffer in the face of uncertainty. We can compare this uncertainty to the sale of vehicles, which suffered a drop due to the shortage of batteries and microchips, also during the post-pandemic period.
In the end, a product as essential as EVOO has become a luxury product for many families. How essential it will be in our diet that it is in the group of products with reduced VAT, a measure approved by the government at the end of 2022 so that it would not be discarded for worse products. Yet we know it is not enough.
So, with a panorama of high demand, offering less product than in previous harvests makes the market destabilize and prices rise, fearing that the next harvest will be even worse. The fact is that prices are also a good measure of the risk, the forecast or the future of a sector. Accumulating several consecutive years of low rainfall and a year with severe drought make forecasts negative and prices suffer in the face of uncertainty. We can compare this uncertainty to the sale of vehicles, which suffered a drop due to the shortage of batteries and microchips, also during the post-pandemic period.
In the end, a product as essential as EVOO has become a luxury product for many families. How essential it will be in our diet that it is in the group of products with reduced VAT, a measure approved by the government at the end of 2022 so that it would not be discarded for worse products. Yet we know it is not enough.
Against this backdrop, we would love to be able to say that we have the capacity to meet all the demand with a booming supply and thus have the power to stabilize prices. But nature rules and is above any human will. Let us hope that the situation is temporary and that we will soon be able to offer the extra virgin olive oil production we have had in previous harvests, although we are aware that there is a change in the global climatic paradigm.
We can only say from Aceites la Muralla, that our AOVE of hojiblanca, hojiblanca premium and arbequina variety is the best we have in our olive groves and we are proud to be able to control the entire production process from the field to your table and thus save on costs as much as possible. We will never tire of offering the best we have inherited and have been doing so since 1878.
We will inform you of any stabilization in prices as well as offers that we can make so that you can get the best extra virgin olive oil at the most advantageous price possible. Subscribe to our newsletter to be informed of any news.
To not miss anything be sure to follow us on our social networks, there we publish news about prizes for our EVOO, recipes, olive cycle, new products, discounts, etc..
We hope this information has been useful for you!