The olive oil crisis in the EU has opened up opportunities for rapeseed oil

In spring, Spain was particularly affected by the drought. The heat during flowering prevented the fruit from setting. Greece experienced floods and storms. Bad weather also hit North Africa and the Middle East.

In general, in the 2022/23 season, EU producers received 1.4 million tons of olive oil. In 2021/22, the production was almost 2.3 mln tons. Spain, the world’s largest producer, harvested only 660 thousand tons of olives instead of the usual 1.5 million tons.

In Italy, the olive harvest in 2022/23 was 37% lower than last year. According to official estimates, Italy will produce 290 thousand tons of olive oil in the 2023-2024 season. This is 20% more than a year earlier, but less than the average of 302,479 tons over four years.

In Germany, olive oil prices increased by 43.5% in November. However, in general, cooking fats and oils were 11.5% cheaper than a year earlier. Butter fell by 24.8%, while sunflower and rapeseed oils dropped by 17.3%. Due to the high cost of olive oil, rapeseed oil is likely to become the most popular cooking oil.

Tags: EU, rapeseed oil, olive oil