After several years of poor olive oil harvests, this year’s outlook seems more promising for producers in Greece and Spain, which should logically lead to a decrease in prices.
Supermarket prices in Belgium are on the rise (albeit at a slower rate of inflation than consumers saw in 2022) and olive oil prices have seen some of the biggest increases, due to poor harvests.
Figures from Test Achats show that olive oil prices increased by 27% just this October.
While 2023 was one of the worst olive harvests on record globally, Spain (the world's largest producer of olive oil) expects the 2024 harvest to be 48% higher than last years. According to the Ministry of Agriculture's forecasts, this year's harvest should reach 1.26 million tonnes.
In Greece, better harvests are also anticipated this year.
On the downside, Italy is expected to have an even lower production than last year. The Ismea Agricultural Institute predicts 220,000 tonnes, a third less than in 2023.
On the back of improved harvests, the most optimistic forecasts predict a price decrease for olive oil. In Germany, the supermarket chain Aldi has already reduced its olive oil price.
