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FOOD PRICES: OLIVE OIL: Time to Stock Up On Olive Oil Before Prices Rise Further, After Drought in Olive Oil World-Leader Spain?

The Wall Street Journal reports on climbing olive oil prices resulting from a drought in Spain.

"... [R]estaurants specializing in Mediterranean food are feeling the pinch as a drought in Spain, by far the world’s biggest producer, pushes up global prices. ...[W]ith Americans pouring increasing quantities of olive oil onto their salads and into their frying pans ... many households are likely to notice rising costs over time, too. Olive oil joins other staple foodstuffs — such as cocoa, sugar and robusta coffee beans — ... rocket[ing] in price after extreme weather ... damaged harvests. ..."

So perhaps now is the time to stock up on olive oil, before olive oil prices hit average consumers even more.

"... Prices [reportedly] have hit record highs recently in Spain ... €8.50, or about $9.10, a kilogram in September, the highest in data stretching back to October 2013. ... Greece and Italy haven’t suffered the same bad weather, [yet] prices for Greek and Italian oils are also soaring [as a ripple effect] ...."

Olive oil consumption has gone up, perhaps due to perceptions of health benefits from a Mediterranean diet generally, and olives in particular.

International Olive Council data suggests Americans might consume about 381,000 tons of olive oil this year, just over a liter per person, compared with 88,000 tons in 1991, about 12 ounces per person.

— WSJ/SCW 11.14.23

Key Words: Olives, Olive Oil, Cooking Oil, Food Prices, Inflation, Spain, Italy, Greece, Spanish Drought, U.S. Olive Oil Consumption, Olive Oil Prices, Mediterranean Diet

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