16 Jan, 2024 @ 13:00
1 min read

Spanish shoppers are fuming after seeing Spain-packaged olive oil selling for MUCH cheaper in the UK – but is there a catch?

SPANISH shoppers contending with olive oil setting them back as much as €10 a litre have been raging at their staple food product being half the price in London.

A Spaniard living in London highlighted how one litre of ‘mild’ olive oil from Antequera in Andalucia is selling in Lidl at £4.99 – equivalent to €5.80.

And extra virgin olive oil was just £3.89 per 750ml – £5.19 per litre or €6.02, with experts predicting it will hit €13 per litre in Spain soon. 

“They are taking the p***!” wrote LaVecinaCottilla (the Gossiping Neighbour) on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Spain’s long running drought and intense heat waves have seriously impacted olive oil production, reducing supply and driving up prices at home.

The price of Spanish olive oil in London has been noted to be almost half the price of similar products in it’s native Spain. Credit: X / Twitter / @LaVecinaCotill3

Therefore several users speculated on potential reasons for why the prices might have remained lower in the UK, ranging from stockpiling and supply chain dynamics to the influence of market demand on pricing. 

One user pointed out that olive oil’s price might be affected by the time of bottling and the purchase price of the oil itself.

However, others pointed out that the olive oil on British shelves was all ‘refined’ and not of the same quality as that found in Spanish shops.

“What in Spain is called ‘mild olive oil’?” another responded.

“That’s paraffin – I wouldn’t even use it to light a lamp,” responded a third.

Spain is the world’s number one olive oil exporter, pumping out 718,000 tonnes to Europe in 2021, worth a non-negligible €3.6 billion, according to trade data experts OEC.

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Walter Finch

Walter Finch, is the Digital Editor of the Olive Press and occasional roaming photographer who started out at the Daily Mail.
Born in London but having lived in six countries, he is well-travelled and worldly. He studied Philosophy at the University of Birmingham and earned his NCTJ diploma in journalism from London's renowned News Associates during the Covid era.
He got his first break working on the Foreign News desk of the Daily Mail's online arm, where he also helped out on the video desk due to previous experience as a camera operator and filmmaker.
He then decided to escape the confines of London and returned to Spain in 2022, having previously lived in Barcelona for many years.

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