What Is Happening to Your Olive Oil?
Why is olive oil so expensive? A perfect storm of climate change, historic droughts in Spain, and pests has decimated harvests, causing prices to double.
By Foodie Pundit Newsroom - Published - Updated - Section: Sustainability
Key points
- Extreme weather, primarily drought and heatwaves in Spain and Italy, has cut global olive oil production by over 50%, causing prices to more than double.
- The climate crisis is exacerbating the spread of pests like the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium, which has destroyed millions of olive trees in Italy.
- High prices and scarcity are increasing the risk of olive oil fraud, where extra virgin oil may be diluted with cheaper, lower-grade oils.
- Consumers are buying less olive oil and shifting to alternatives like sunflower and canola oil, a trend that could have long-term impacts on the industry.
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Sources and methodology
Reported from the public datasets below.
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