The price of olive oil is on everyone’s lips and it is not surprising because it is the product that has become most expensive this last year. They are followed by sugar, rice, confectionery and potatoes.
AAE | EITB MEDIA
Lately there is no other topic of conversation: how expensive everything is in the supermarket! That’s how it is. Food prices do not let up and continue to rise: in one year they have risen 10.5%, although the general CPI in the State is 2.6%.
However, not all foods have seen their prices rise to the same extent. The food whose price has increased the most is olive oil (52.5%). This is the largest annual increase in the last 21 years. The price of olive oil began its rise in April 2021, when it registered an annual increase of 2%. In May of that year the increase was 5% and since then it has been increasing monthly in double figures. But this last month is the most notable increase in a long time, since in July the annual rate stood at 38.8% and in August it suddenly rose to 52.5%.
In the list of the 5 foods that have become most expensive, in second place is sugar (42.5%), followed by rice (21.6%), confectionery products (18.2%) and potatoes (18. %). A little lower in the ranking are milk – which has risen 15.1% -, pork (15.6%) or beef (6.8%), for example. All of them are essential products in many homes.
One of the reasons for this price increase is the weather: heat and drought. In general, production in agriculture and livestock has decreased significantly, especially in sugar, cereals, legumes and oils. In addition, the stress that animals suffer from heat also reduces the production of products such as milk and eggs.
In the case of olive oil, the fields have been receiving less water than usual for two years, as explained by Mikel Izagirre from the Erroiz Olioak mill in Lanciego in the Euskadi Irratia program “Faktoria”. Last year production decreased by 55% (approximately 663,000 tons were collected) and this year it is expected to be similar or even somewhat lower.
Another key point, according to Izagirre, is that Spain continues to export olive oil, while other Mediterranean countries have decided to close the door to exports. In this sense, the OCU has denounced that the price of EVOO in Spain “far” exceeds that of Italy, France and Portugal and has asked the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to carry out “immediate inspections” to guarantee control. of the production chain.
Right now, demand is greater than supply and, therefore, prices continue to rise.
Alternatives
According to data from the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), the average consumption of olive oil per household has decreased in recent years. In 2002 it stood at 22.1 liters, when in 2007, before the outbreak of the financial crisis, it was 30.4 liters per year on average. Everything indicates that, if prices continue to rise, the consumption of this oil could be reduced even further, since many consumers have already begun to look for alternatives.
Asked about healthy alternatives to EVOO, nutritionist Nere Sotil talks about some products such as ghee or coconut oil. Although in her opinion, the key may be to change the way we cook and use just a little bit of raw oil in our dishes.
What healthy product can we use instead of olive oil?
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