The price of a liter of olive oil continues to rise in supermarkets although, originally, it has been falling for twelve weeks. This week, the organization FACUA Catalunya, Consumidors en Acció has reported that the average price of a liter of extra virgin olive oil has reached almost 14 euros in April, an increase of 4.1% since the beginning of the year, despite the fact that at origin it has been reduced by 1.21 euros since January. The product leads the year-on-year increase in food with an average increase of 69.1%.
This downward trend in origin prices is also observed in virgin olive oil. Based on data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, in January the farmer was paid 7.35 euros per liter, while in the second week of April its price was 6.21 euros.
The increase in price is also reflected in extra virgin in 5-liter bottles. The average price for this type of packaging was 56.50 euros at the beginning of January, while in April it stood at 59.37 euros. The average increase in this format during the first quarter of 2024 has been 5.1%.
FACUA assures that it is still “waiting” for the Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030 to conclude its investigation into the increases in margins on foods with reduced VAT (such as olive oil), a practice prohibited since January. This tax reduction came into effect in 2023. In addition, he has indicated that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs sent a request to the main supermarket chains to justify the reasons for these price increases but they have not yet specified whether or not they received a response.
FACUA's analysis shows that, contrary to the argument put forward by manufacturers and supermarket chains, the increases are not solely the result of the increase in the price of the product at origin.
