Olive oil in France hit hard by soaring prices and fraud
The number of fraudulent schemes for the ‘liquid gold’ is at a record high
A bottle of olive oil can now cost up to €10 or more in a supermarket
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Olive oil producers in France have been hit hard by soaring prices and increased fraud at European borders over the first few months of 2024, figures show.
In the first third of 2024 50 olive oil fraud schemes were reported at the borders of the European Union, show figures from the bloc’s food safety body, Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF).
This is a record, and is more than the number of fraudulent schemes reported in the same time period for 2023 (40). It is more than three times the number reported (15) for the same time period in 2018.
Common frauds include:
Fraudulent products can undercut the market once on sale, commanding a lower price for products that appear to be ‘extra-virgin’ and high-quality, when in fact they are tricking consumers into buying.
Similarly, producers can commit fraud in the opposite direction, by charging the high prices that the ‘real thing’ commands, while actually selling a far inferior product.
In mid-July, Italian authorities seized 42 tons of fake olive oil worth an estimated €925,000 in the south of the country. It was labelled as ‘extra-virgin’, even though it contained other, lesser ingredients.
Of the 182 fraudulent cases identified by the RASFF since the start of 2023:
54 came from Italy
41 from Spain
39 from Greece
48 other
Authorities believe that these frauds do not show the real problem. The EU only takes into account fraud declared by its Member States, which are seen during border checks. Yet, this relies on the checks being 100% accurate and consistent.
Some countries, such as Germany, report a significant number of frauds. However, others do not, meaning that many operations are probably being missed.
Doubling in price
One of the reasons for the increase in fraud is the soaring cost of olive oil due to low production levels, even as consumption and demand is still relatively high.
Climate change has hit olive oil tree crops hard, with prices of bottled olive oil having doubled in some cases since 2018. A supermarket bottle of good quality olive oil can now cost up to €10 or more.
In Spain, figures from April showed that 100 kg of extra-virgin olive oil has reached almost €900, double the cost for the same amount in 2022. Prices in Spanish supermarkets rose by 42% between January and September, said Spanish consumer association Facua.
Rising costs do appear to have had some impact on buying levels, European Union figures show that consumption of olive oil across Europe dropped by 20% between 2021-22 and 2022-23, largely due to soaring costs and people’s reduced buying power.
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Yet, production of the sought-after liquid is also at its lowest for the past 12 years, said the International Olive Council (an intergovernmental organisation of olive oil-producing nations based in Madrid, Spain, whose members produce 98% of the olive oil worldwide).
Extreme weather in 2023 and 2024 have caused the market to come under even greater pressure. Production forecasts have worsened due to extreme heat in southern Europe, Turkey, and Morocco.
Continued poor conditions are also set to affect this year’s harvest in autumn meaning the problems of sky-high prices and increased frauds are unlikely to be overcome any time soon.
