Olive oil shortage hits New Zealand; wild weather takes toll in Mediterranean

The price of olive oil is rising. Photo / Getty Images

Amid ongoing cost of living pressures and news that we’re in a recession, shoppers might be thinking twice before they add a bottle of olive oil to their weekly groceries - prices are up. Supply issues are raising costs and hampering availability. Here’s what we know, and what you can do about it.

Pushing your trolley or lugging a basket down the olive oil aisle recently you may have noticed sparse shelves and increasing prices. Wondering what’s going on? So are we.

The issue is supply, says the grocery companies, with global production predicted to fall short of demand, which has flow-on effects with availability and price.

Olive oil prices have been surging around the world. In 2023 the global price of olive oil hit a 26-year high. Smaller yields - an effect of climate change - have driven up prices.

Crops in the Mediterranean have been battered by droughts, wild fires, hail storms and flooding. Greece - where olive oil accounts for 9 per cent of its agriculture - has seen a 67 per cent increase in prices, according to Eurostat, well above the 50 per cent EU average.

Prices in Spain rose 63 per cent and Portugal was up 70 per cent. Spain is the world’s largest producer of olive oil, and the country’s crop has been particularly impacted by extreme weather. There have even been reported cases of theft.

Closer to home, wet weather in New Zealand (and the impact of Cyclone Gabrielle) has affected domestic harvests in regions like Martinborough. Producer Nalini Baruch told RNZ that in 2023 the country produced 76,000 litres of olive oil - a significant drop from 120,000 litres in 2022.

Locally grown olive oil only accounts for around 10 per cent of what we consume here, and tends to command more boutique price point, although with the increase price of competitors, the difference may be more palatable.

One-third of Italians have reduced their consumption of extra virgin olive oil due to skyrocketing prices, according to a recent survey. Photo / AP

Australian olive oils have experienced skyrocketing demand across the ditch in response to the international prices, reported the ABC in October. Australian brands are common on New Zealand supermarket shelves, and appear to have also gone up in price here.

New Zealand’s largest retailers say they’re both being impacted by the global shortages.

“Due to significant supply pressures in the global olive oil market we are unfortunately experiencing a shortage of olive oil. To support our customers through this we are increasing our on-shelf capacity of olive oil alternatives. We do not have sight of when the shortage will end, however, we will continue to work with our customers to mitigate any impact on their shopping experience,” Woolworths told the New Zealand Herald.

Foodstuffs NZ North Island says it’s also affected. “Over the last six months, we’ve seen supplier olive oil prices increase by 50-60 per cent, and as global demand outstrips supply, we can expect supply prices to continue to increase,” said Jocelyn McCallum, head of grocery food and frozen, in statement to media.

Olive oil encompasses 40-50 per cent of Foodstuff’s oil sales, and its warning customers to expect increasing challenges in the category. “Our experts are predicting we’re near the ceiling of the likely increases, however, until growers get better conditions and supply levels improve, it’s likely supply prices will remain higher than usual,” said McCallum.

Once a hard-to-find product, olive oil is now a mainstay of Kiwi kitchens. It’s also an integral ingredient for many cultures, including Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.

Increasing prices and barriers to access present challenges to cooking, and many Kiwis will think twice before splashing olive oil around with wild abandon - glugging cups and cups of the stuff for an Ottolenghi recipe, or using olive all for every step of a dish.

What are the alternatives?

You can be more strategic about the kind of oil you use for cooking. Due to its low smoke point, olive oil isn’t always suitable for anyway. Cheaper canola oils can be used for the “cooking” part of a meal, with olive oil reserved for finishing and dressings. Alternative fats can lend plenty of flavour to a dish. And when nothing but olive oil will do, deploying a robust variety means you’ll get a bigger taste kick and be able to use less of it. Calculate the per-100ml price before deciding on a bottle, and buy in bulk, if you can - olive oil often works out cheaper that way.

Most importantly though; don’t panic buy. “We’ve currently got good supply so there’s no need to rush out and top up,” said McCallum.

Emma Gleason is the New Zealand Herald’s lifestyle and entertainment deputy editor. Based in Auckland, she covers culture, media and more.