MadridSunflower oil has dethroned olive oil as king of cooking in Spain, the world’s largest producer of olive oil, at a time when rising prices are forcing consumers to switch to cheaper options.
Spaniards bought 107 million litres of all types of olive oil in the first half of 2024, compared with 179 million litres of sunflower oil, said Spain’s largest olive oil bottling association, Anierac.
Until this year, olive oil has been the most popular cooking oil in Spanish households, accounting for 62 percent of sales by volume in 2023, while sunflower oil accounted for almost 34 percent, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
Sales of olive oil in volume fell by 18 percent compared to the first half of 2023, according to Anierac. While sales of sunflower oil increased by 25 percent.
A bottle of sunflower oil cost an average of 1.86 euros ($2.07) a litre last year, while the most expensive olive oil varieties were worth more than 6 euros a litre, 50 percent more than in 2022, according to official data.
Spain typically supplies about 40 percent of the world’s olive oil, but spring heat waves and a prolonged drought have reduced olive harvests over the past two years, doubling olive oil prices to record levels.
According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture on food consumption trends in 2023, this staple of the Mediterranean diet has fallen out of reach for poor Spanish households, who are switching to cheaper sunflower oil.
At the end of last year, olive oil was consumed mainly in middle- and upper-middle-class households, the report says.
One-liter bottles of extra virgin olive oil were selling for 14.5 euros ($15.77) in some supermarkets last year, prompting retailers to attach safety labels to them.
Spain’s biggest supermarket chain, Mercadona, has cut prices by 25 percent this year and is offering one-liter bottles for under 7 euros this week to lure back customers.
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– 2024-08-29 07:21:59
