Spain hit hard by rising price of olive oil as climate change takes its toll on production

Drought and extreme heatwaves have halved Spanish olive oil production. The price at origin has increased by 112 per cent since last year.

Transcript

00:00 In Madrid, one of the many Spanish olive groves where olive oil is extracted.

00:07 It's one of the most consumed products in the world and an essential ingredient of the

00:10 Mediterranean diet, but its price has reached historic highs in recent months.

00:15 Spain is the main oil producer in the world, but it's the country where prices have risen

00:22 the most in the European Union.

00:24 Drought and extreme heat waves have halved Spanish olive oil production.

00:28 Farmgate prices are up by 112 percent, but growers like Jesus Anchuelo say they're losing

00:34 money.

00:35 "We've had production costs that are higher than ever before.

00:40 This oil that is being sold now, which is rising week after week, was paid at a price

00:45 that we could barely cover the production costs."

00:49 A litre of oil in Spanish stores has gone up by 52.5 percent in a year, well above the

00:55 European average increase of 38.3 percent and of producing countries such as Italy,

01:00 Greece and Portugal.

01:01 "The price of oil is also affecting other products such as canned goods.

01:06 The most expensive ingredient in this can of sardines is olive oil."

01:13 Spain exports 70 percent of its production abroad.

01:16 In a context of supply scarcity, Spanish consumers compete for olive oil in an increasingly competitive

01:23 global market.

01:24 "In Spain we are used to prices lower than in the rest of the world.

01:30 What has happened is that in Spain, where prices are lower, prices have been harmonised

01:36 with Italian prices, with prices paid in the United States, with prices paid in France,

01:42 in Greece."

01:43 It is expected that this year's harvest will be very similar to the previous one.

01:47 A possible drop in the price of olive oil will only come with a higher production if

01:52 climate change finally gives a truce to the Mediterranean countries.

01:57 In Madrid, Jaime Velázquez, Euronews.

01:59 [SWOOSH]