Olive oil prices in France set to fall with bumper harvest in sight
Costs per litre rose by over €4 in the previous three years
Production increases in Spain will have a knock-on effect in France
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The price of olive oil is set to fall by up to €3 in France in the coming months as global production increases, particularly in Spain.
Olive oil has been one of the most noticeable items to see its price rise during recent years, being a kitchen staple in French cooking, especially in the south.
Alongside the general rise in shopping costs due to inflation, successive droughts caused olive oil production to plummet in Spain where the lion’s share (around 80%) of olive oil on French shelves is produced.
The average price of olive oil per litre rose from around €7 to €11.70 between 2021 and 2024.
Read more: Olive oil in France hit hard by soaring prices and fraud
Production spike
However, plentiful rains in 2024 mean the olive harvest in Spain – which mostly occurs between October and February – is set to roughly double compared to last year, leading to a 60% increase in olive oil production.
This will lead to a drop in prices as the good becomes plentiful again – Spain is forecast to make around 1.5 million tonnes of olive oil, the major factor behind a 30% global increase in production predicted by the Conseil oléicole international.
In Spain, prices have already begun to drop by more than €1 in the last few months.
French consumer site Merci Pour l’info predicts in France this could reach up to €3 over the coming months.
Inflation in France is roughly at the Eurozone average, after spiking during the Covid pandemic.
Read more: GRAPH: How does France’s inflation rate compare to other eurozone countries?
