Crisis as olive oil prices continue to soar as industry boss admits it's a ... trends now
The skyrocketing price of olive oil is showing no signs of slowing down as extreme hot weather in Spain and Putin's war in Ukraine continues to worsen the 'crisis'.
A 'double whammy' of war in Ukraine and draught has fuelled fears that increased shortages of the popular cooking oil will continue with no respite until 2025.
Temperatures in Spain - which is the world's largest olive oil producer - reached up to 40C in April as rainfall has been in short supply, prompting poor harvests.
Walter Zanre, chief executive of leading brand Filippo Berio, which has seen prices surge by more than 23 per cent in the last year, said that the industry is 'in crisis'.
Customers, who have grappled with soaring food costs amid the cost-of-living crisis, may have to deal with hefty price tags on their beloved cooking oil for months to come.
The price of olive oil has shot up in supermarkets (Data: Trolley.co.uk)
MailOnline has found that some of the biggest olive oil brands and supermarket own ranges have steadily risen over the past year.
Data from Trolley.co.uk showed the price of its olive oil had risen by more than 45 per cent from £2.75 to £4.01 since May 2022.
Sainsbury's has also propped up the price of its own-brand olive oil by £1.56, a 44.8 per cent increase, figures showed.
Branded product prices including Mr Zanre's Filippo Berio were also on the rise, seeing a bottle of its olive oil climb up from £6.84 to £8.64 (23.7 per cent).
According to separate figures from analyst NIQ, a litre bottle of Filippo Berio has shot up 21.5 per cent year on year, by an average of £1.44 per litre.
M&S' own-branded bottle has seen the lowest hike in price, however it remains one of the more expensive options - at £5.57 - up from £4.97 the previous year.
Other own-branded products such as La Espanola and Napolina have also been forced to raise costs, rising 27.4 per cent
