Olive Oil Market Digest w10

Weekly Olive Oil Market Updates

Price Updates

Our internal data, together with data from trusted industry sources across the Mediterranean (Union of Olive Oil-Producing Municipalities of Crete, PoolRed-ES, Ismea Mercati-IT) help us uncover the delicate movements of the olive oil market across Greece, Italy, and Spain, in the week that passed. 

In Greece, we observed no notable change in the situation of the market; transactions remain faint, and prices have roughly stabilized.

Regarding Italy, we have yet to see any change in the market behavior of operators after the conclusion of the harvest season. Prices remained approximately the same, with minor regional fluctuations.

As for Spain, the conditions shifted regarding virgin and lampante olive oil offerings; after the price rally in lampante oils in the previous weeks, they finally subsided, and virgin oils mirrored this correction. This comes as part of the bearish turn that the market took last week.

A withdrawal of the supply side from the market is also being observed: we believe this is driven by two factors: on the one hand, the recent rains might have made the farmers feel nervous about the commercial outcomes of the next season, giving way to expectations of high future supply volumes. Furthermore, the faint demand seems to have also influenced supply, turning producers toward virtually increasing product scarcity to safeguard the prices they get paid.

The Latest FoodTech Innovations in the Olive Oil Sector

Last week, we explored FoodTech's transformative role in achieving efficient, sustainable, and equitable food production. Innovation continues to accelerate, with researchers from the University of Jaen achieving a significant breakthrough. Their findings suggest the feasibility of installing agro-photovoltaic systems in olive groves. Such systems, previously deemed suitable only for shade-tolerant crops like raspberries, can now be integrated with olive trees due to their moderate shade sensitivity. However, researchers found that olive trees across varieties show only moderate sensitivity to shade. As a result, such initiatives can be integrated into existing olive groves and expand not only the income of underlying producers and companies but also give a great boost to renewable energy production in olive-rich countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece.

Additionally, fraud cases came up a lot in this year's agricultural news. Olive oil-related fraud typically includes promoting olive oil with false origin labeling or even mixing olive oil with cheaper oils (like sunflower oil and vegetable oils) without mentioning it in the packaging. Scientists from the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) laboratory came up with new methods of distinguishing between authentic and counterfeit olive oil with exceptional accuracy. We can only wait and see the market effects of such technologies when they get widely adopted by market participants.

Celebrating Health and Women in the Olive Oil Sector

The week that passed was filled with annual international commemorations to which we believe that olive oil is highly relevant. 

The World Obesity Day on Monday reminded everyone of the health dangers lurking behind modern lifestyles and dietary habits. With olive oil at its very foundation, the Mediterranean diet was once again recognized for its benefits against various health defects. The Mediterranean peoples know pretty well that olive oil, the foundation of their dietary habits, poses as a healthy alternative to other sources of fat. In recent years, as consumers worldwide have been growing increasingly health-conscious, olive oil consumption has been on the rise even in parts of the world (like Scandinavia) where olives are just out of place. This is why demand by end-consumers has proven robust against the soaring retail prices we have witnessed.

International Women's Day presented an opportunity to acknowledge the invaluable role women play in olive oil value chains. Up to fairly recently, women's interaction with the sector never systematically incorporated holding positions of high influence and authority. This situation has started to change; 2023 marked a ground-breaking year on this frontier, with the UNESCO-recognized World Day of the Olive Tree paying tribute to women's efforts in the sector. At Wikifarmer, we are striving to create a workspace environment that allows everyone to flourish in all operations revolving around agri-food value chains, from primary production to transportation and logistics, up to marketing and trading. We are proud to welcome the great developments in breaking barriers, and we have drawn up a new special edition to expand on the great significance of this progress.

Wikifarmer negotiates with several suppliers to secure a steady supply of Olive oil at reasonable prices. Our team can help you with price negotiation, pay with credit terms, and arrange logistics and transportation. We also implement strict Quality Assurance procedures, making sure that producers provide us with all certificates that prove their claims about their products, and that all relevant analyses take place. 

Our contribution is not constrained just to the facilitation of value optimization for the various market players. We also invest a lot in making sure that our highly-valued partners, either from the supply or from the demand side, keep up with the latest developments in their fields.

This is why we have created Wikifarmer Academy, in order to offer affordable educational courses to all. The Wikifarmer Academy is an online school that aims to provide complete educational courses that will empower you and help you cultivate more efficiently and sustainably. In case you are interested in learning more, check our new course "Wikifarmer Expert in Sustainable Olive Oil Production, Quality, and Economics" here.