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Olive oil price skyrockets as Spanish drought bites

December 5, 2023 - from the BBC:

"Spain is the world's biggest olive oil producer, covering 70% of European Union consumption and 45% of that of the entire world.

"The lack of rain that this province and other olive-producing areas around Spain have been seeing therefore has an enormous impact on both the amount of oil being produced and its price.

"In Spain, olive oil prices have increased by more than 70% this year alone after a sharp rise in 2022. A one-litre bottle of extra virgin oil currently costs around €9 ($9.88; £7.79) in low-budget supermarkets. A slight drop in the market price in recent weeks is only providing light relief.

"The Nuestra Señora del Pilar cooperative, through which hundreds of Jaén olive farmers produce their oil, is the biggest factory of its kind in the world. However, it only harvested 24 million kilos of olives in the 2022-23 season, one of the worst figures on record.

"This year, the cooperative estimates the total will be around 30-35 million kilos - still well below the average.

"However, it seems that rainfall, as much as health concerns, is currently deciding the amount of olive oil that people consume."