Where is all the olive oil?
Saturday, 16 March 2024
Olive oil is becoming harder to find on supermarket shelves.
Extreme weather in Europe has made olive growing difficult and put the squeeze on global supply.
The average price of a litre of oil has risen by more than 30% in two years.
A global shortage of olive oil has reached New Zealand, with the bottled gold becoming increasingly difficult to find.
And as supplies run low, consumers can expect to pay more for the staple ingredient.
A Woolworths NZ spokesperson said its supermarkets were experiencing a shortage of olive oil due to supply pressures in the global market.
“To help customers through this, we’ve increased the presence of olive oil alternatives on our shelves,” she said.
Foodstuffs, which owns the Pak’nSave, New World and Four Square brands, was aware of drought conditions in Spain and the Mediterranean, but its supplies were so far unaffected, a spokesperson said
But the shortage hasn’t come out of the blue. Kiwis were warned last year that supplies could come under pressure because of extreme weather in Europe, the world’s largest producer of olive oil.
Droughts, severe hailstorms and flooding over the last 10 years have made olive growing difficult and resulted in significantly reduced harvests.
According to the European Commission, olive oil production in the EU fell from more than 2.2 million tonnes in 2022 to about 1.4 million tonnes last year.
Reduced supply means higher prices. In the last two years, the global price of olive oil has tripled, reaching more than €9 (NZ$16) a kilogram in January. A litre of olive oil weighs about 900g.
Data from Stats NZ shows local prices have also risen sharply, with the average cost of a litre of pure olive oil jumping from $11.60 in December 2021 to $15.50 last December.
Although New Zealand produces some olive oil, that product usually accounts for only about 10% of what is consumed here.
Last year, Cyclone Gabrielle cut domestic production from 120,000 litres in 2022 to 76,000 litres last year.