The price of the shopping basket is one of the main concerns of citizens, who in recent weeks have witnessed the sharp rise in the prices of bottles of olive oil in all supermarkets. It seems that in the short term, this will continue to be the case, as pointed out by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, in the press conference after the Council of Ministers. The head of the portfolio has been clear, there is a clear variation between production volume and prices; and in the case of oil, sugar and rice, the product available on the market is sufficient to meet the demand registered in recent years.
“The context is one of high prices,” he flatly admitted when referring to oil, although the door has been opened to a more positive evolution of the prices of this key good for the Mediterranean diet. Spain is the world’s leading producer of this product but its results are 55% lower than those of the previous year, according to the minister, although as it is a permanent crop, the olive groves could benefit from the intense rains recorded in much of it. . of the country last week. “The rain comes at a good time, at a good time, a positive time for the campaign,” he noted.
However, the person responsible for Food considers that it is too early” to measure what impact these rainfalls may have on the level of production and, consequently, on prices. “It is too early to make an evaluation, we will do it starting in October.” If improvements occur in the production of olives and also their oil, they would contribute to moderating prices that currently exceed eight euros per liter for the final consumer, however, the decrease in production recorded so far has led to resorting to stock. accumulated from previous seasons to cover the demand of the international market. The country had 500,000 tons of reserves and now has just over 200,000, according to plans.
