Olive Oil Market Digest w11

Weekly Olive Oil Market Updates

Price Updates

This week, the various aspects of the B2B market for olive oil across Europe showed regional disparities. These deviations revolved around price movements and the intensity of commercial transactions but were also related to the publication of surprising measurements. To better showcase the main market movements across Greece, Spain, and Italy in the form of mean oil mill price deviations, we used 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). 

The B2B olive oil market in Greece has entered a new state, which resembles the situation in Italy in the past several weeks. Commercial transactions in Greece have become scarce; partners of ours operating B2C outlets retain that consumers have drifted away from olive oil and are now favoring cheaper alternatives like sunflower oil to fulfill their cooking needs. Formal statistics for olive oil consumption in Greece are published by the national statistical authority only annually, so we cannot also show this in numbers.

In Spain, the bearish turn that the market took in the previous week went on this week as well, with prices across olive oil categories falling together and output quantities increasing.

In any case, imports from third countries - like Tunisia, which still conducts duty-free olive oil exports to the EU - are not contributing to the supply side in a decisive way. This reluctance to sell may be due to their waiting for available stock levels in the EU to reach negligent levels so that product scarcity skyrockets and they can ensure higher prices.

The following map shows that last quarter's olive oil supply on Wikifarmer Marketplace has almost exclusively come from Greece, Spain, and Italy, with northern African partners (plus Lebanon) highlighted in light green not contributing as much as in previous periods.

Short Overview of Latest Updates from Spain

On Monday, AICA published its monthly olive oil report analyzing the domestic market situation in Spain during February 2024. We will expand on it in a dedicated "focus on oils" email soon, but we believe it is of significant value to mention some of the main findings now.

More particularly, the recent rainfalls have contributed to the significant improvement in the situation of underground water reservoirs across the country. The water levels are still below the average but at a better situation than the previous two years, which were also plagued by significant droughts, especially in the olive grove-rich southern regions of the country.

Furthermore, production levels surpassed not only the initial estimates of 650,000 tonnes but also the moderately revised forecasts of 800,000 tonnes, ultimately approaching the level of 830,000 tonnes. However, the current availability is about 712,376 tonnes, already less than availability at the end of January 2024 (735,429 tons). As a result, given that consumption did not falter critically against the high prices during the whole season, the nightmare revolving around carryover availability before the beginning of the next season is still here.

Even so, consumption is expected to increase due to the reduction of VAT on olive oil to 0% in April. We forecast that this measure implemented by the Spanish government will cause a decrease in retail prices of olive oil, posing as a good incentive for B2C operators to compete more. The previous could result in an even worse situation for carryover stocks, triggering complex market movements before the beginning of the next harvest season.

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.