Olive oil price up 50% in EU, 67% in Greece

Greece saw the second-highest increase in the price of olive oil since January 2023, with its 67 percent increase far above the European Union average of 50 percent, data from the EU’s statistics arm showed on Tuesday.

Portugal saw the highest price spike in the bloc, with a nearly 70 percent increase, followed by Greece and Spain (63 percent). The three countries together produce most of Europe’s olive oil.

Eurostat said the price of olive oil skyrocketed in the second half of 2023 with a 37% increase in August, compared with August 2022. This trend accelerated in September with an increase of 44 percent and a 50 percent increase the following month. 

The peak in the annual rate of change occurred in November 2023 (up 51 percent compared with November 2022). In December, there was a small slowdown, as the prices were 47 percent higher, compared with December 2022.

Price increases were recorded across the board, with the smallest three being 18 percent in the Netherlands, 16 percent in Ireland and 13 percent in Romania.

According to the National Bank of Greece, olive oil accounts for 9% of the total agricultural production value in Greece compared with 1% in Europe, and a higher percentage of GDP in Greece (0.4 percent) than in Spain or Italy.