Price of olive oil soars

The price of olive oil in Portugal has spiralled to new records because of the drought in Spain that has driven up prices to a 30-year high on the international markets with little chance of prices coming down until October.

“In Portugal the price of olive oil has followed prices in the Spanish market and since October we have seen successive increases to record prices”, says the general secretary of Fenzeites, Patrícia Falcão Duarte to the business daily Negócios.
“Until the start of the next season, and with stocks at a minimum or even non-existent, there are no prospects for a fall in price and the upward trend looks set to continue at least until October”, she said.
Data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) shows that the price of olive oil shot up in April to new heights not seen since 1990, reaching US$ 6,269.3 per metric ton, of 46.3% more than a year ago.
Moreover, to see similar prices to today, you would have to go back to December 1996 when olive oil was being traded at US$ 6,241.
“Spain produces more than half of the olive oil produced in the world and provides the benchmark for prices internationally”, says the general secretary of the Casa do Azeite, Mariana Matos.