Olive Oil Prices Continue to Singe Consumers

Prices for olive oil, a staple of the “Mediterranean diet” and the most popular cooking oil in Greece, continued to skyrocket in the country over the recent period.

Despite living in the perennial third-largest olive oil producer in the world (behind Spain and Italy), consumers in Greece have seen a four-liter can of extra virgin oil go from roughly 50 euros last month, December 2023, to 61 euros at the beginning of January, an increase of approximately 11 euros.

A five-liter can rose, on average, from 58 euros to 65 euros over the same period.

Shoppers now preferring one-liter plastic container prices saw reach as high as 21 euros, although discount own-brands offered by some supermarkets chains in the country could be found on shelves for roughly 10 euros.

Consumers of the top quality and nutritional cooking oil were hit by high prices due to a poor 2023-24 harvest and surging inflation after the “double whammy” of pandemic-related disruptions and the war in Ukraine, which caused energy prices to soar.’