The consumer association Facua has revealed that the same one-liter bottle of extra virgin olive oil can cost up to 45% more depending on the establishment where it is purchased, which represents a difference of about four euros per liter.
Facua has carried out a study in which it has analyzed 50 brands of virgin and extra virgin olive oils in eight of the main supermarket and hypermarket chains in Spain -Alcampo, Carrefour, Dia, Hipercor, Eroski, Mercadona, Aldi and Lidl-, where they have compared 144 different prices between oils in plastic containers, cans and sprays of various capacities.
According to this report, the average price of a liter of extra virgin oil in a liter plastic container is 9.67 euros, with the most expensive among those analyzed being that of the Maestros de Hojiblanca brand, on sale at Carrefour for 13, 10 euros, and the cheapest is Mar de Olivos, at 7.79 euros in Alcampo, with more than five euros difference. In this case, the difference between these two brands and supermarkets reaches 68%.
The greatest variation in prices between the same brand according to the supermarket is found in the one-liter plastic bottle of Carbonell extra virgin picual variety, whose price ranges from 8.86 euros in Alcampo to 12.85 euros in Carrefour, which which represents a difference of almost four euros per liter.
All the oils analyzed by Facua packaged in cans are extra virgin and their average price per liter is 9.70 euros, a figure practically identical to the average for a liter in plastic, with a difference between supermarkets of 28.6%.
The price of virgin oils in liter format varies by 53.4% -4.11 euros-, with an average price of 8.91 euros, while the spray in 200 milliliter format costs just over three euros. average, with a difference of 35.7%.
From Facua they demand that the Government investigate this price escalation and apply "caps on profit margins" in all phases of the chain, since they maintain that the increases do not occur "solely as a result of poor harvests" of olives. , but also by "speculation."
The association maintains that the royal decree law by which the VAT reduction was approved from 10 to 5% prohibits "any increase that is not a consequence of cost increases" since January, which is why it considers that what is happening with oil olive oil is a "sanctionable practice".
