Spain's Deoleo sees olive oil prices staying high until June 2024

Deoleo SA

26/10/2023 14:59

MADRID, Oct 26 (Reuters) - Olive oil prices in Spain
will remain at record levels at least until June after a drought
hit the south of the country for the second year in a row,
Deoleo, the world's largest olive oil producer, said on
Thursday.
    Production in the 2023/2024 crop year is expected to be
about a third below the four-year average, according to official
figures, cutting supply and driving up prices. 
    Spain is the world's top olive oil producer, supplying about
40% of the world's output, making it a reference for
international olive oil prices. 
    "I don't expect the current higher prices to go any further
than they are at the moment... but we do expect olive oil prices
to ease for consumers from June 2024," Deoleo CEO Ignacio Silva
told reporters on the sidelines of a retailer business event in
Madrid.
    The price of extra virgin olive oil has doubled in Spain
since the beginning of the year, reaching 8.10 euros ($8.54) per
kilo in the first half of October, according to official
figures. The prices are 155% higher than in the same period two
years ago.
    In supermarkets, the price for a bottle of extra virgin
olive oil rose 76% in September, compared with the same month
last year, according to a Nielsen report.
    Spain's Agriculture Ministry expects olive oil production to
reach 765,300 metric tons in the 2023-2024 harvest, up from
663,000 tons in 2022-2023 when output halved, but still a third
below the four-year average.
    Deoleo, which operates brands such as Bertolli and
Carbonell, is more optimistic, predicting that the new harvest
that started on Oct. 1 could reach 800,000 metric tons if there
is more rain in the spring, which could result in farmers
lowering prices.
    ($1 = 0.9482 euros)

 (Reporting by Corina Pons and Emma Pinedo; editing by Charlie
Devereux and Sharon Singleton)
 ((corina.pons@thomsonreuters.com; 0034 690725854; Reuters
Messaging: corina.pons.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))