The European olive oil market is in crisis: counterfeiting has broken a record, and production has dropped dramatically

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 09. 02. 11:59

The number of cases related to the adulteration of olive oil in the European Union increased to an unprecedented extent at the beginning of this year. While only fifteen cases were registered in the first quarter of 2018, this year there have already been fifty reports of labeling errors, potential fraud and contaminated oils, according to data from the EU’s Directorate-General for Health. Behind the increase in counterfeiting is the more than two-fold increase in the world market price of olive oil, which was triggered by production difficulties caused by extreme weather.

The drastic increase in world market prices is coupled with a dramatic decrease in production. In the 2021-2022 season, another 3.3 million tons of olive oil were produced worldwide, but a year later this number was only 2.4 million tons, and this year’s harvest is expected to further reduce this amount to 2.3 million tons – the Telex analysis shows.

The European Union plays a leading role in the global olive oil market in terms of production, consumption and export. EU countries produce two-thirds of the world’s olive oil production, and they are also responsible for 53% of consumption. Italy and Spain consume half a million tons of olive oil per year, but the per capita consumption is highest in Greece, where 12 kilograms of olive oil are used annually.

Spain, the world’s leading producer of olive oil, was particularly hard hit by the drop in production. While 1.5 million tons were produced in the 2021-2022 season, this figure dropped to just 0.66 million tons a year later, and this season also showed only minimal improvement. A similarly bad situation has developed in Italy, where drought, heat waves, and forest fires make production even more difficult. In Puglia, for example, olive oil production may drop by up to 50%, while in Sicily, due to the worst drought in the last fifty years, olive trees are losing their harvest in many places.