Olive oil rises 11.9% in price as a one-litre bottle of Filippo Berio’s Classico now sells for £11

Olive oil prices in the UK have skyrocketed amid fears the country could run out of supplies by autumn as last year’s drought ruined the olive season in southern Europe.

Between December 2021 and last month, the price of the average bottle of olive oil rose 11.9 per cent, with the cost of Britain’s best-selling bottle of olive oil doubling to more than £11.

Temperatures in the Spanish province of Andalucia soared to over 40C last spring, wreaking havoc during the early growing season in the region, known for producing more olive oil annually than all of Italy.

Between December 2021 and last month, the price of the average bottle of olive oil rose 11.9 per cent, with the cost of Britain’s best-selling bottle of olive oil doubling to more than £11

In 2019, online supermarket Ocado charged £6 for a liter of Filippo Berio’s Classico olive oil, but now they’re charging £11.05, the Times reports.

According to the Food Price Index recorded on Trolley, the average price of olive oil products in the UK has risen from £6.62 in December 2021 to £7.41 in December 2022.

The UK supermarket to see the biggest increase in olive oil prices was Iceland, whose products rose 37 per cent, or £1.70.

The co-operative was up 22 per cent by £0.95, closely followed by Morrisons, which was up 19.8 per cent by £0.90.

Waitrose supermarkets saw the smallest price increase last year, up £0.55, or 6.2 per cent.

Chief executive of Britain’s largest olive oil brand Filippo Berio UK, Walter Zanre, told the Times it was “a disaster” and raised concerns the country could run out of olive oil by the autumn.

He added: “We had to raise prices by 30 percent and prices are likely to continue to rise.”

The price of Filippo Berio’s extra virgin olive oil will now set shoppers back £10 if they choose to shop at Waitrose, compared to £8 at Tesco.

The olive oil company estimates that around 60 per cent of the oil used in Britain is produced by Spain, with that amount projected to halve to 700,000 tonnes by 2023.

Temperatures in the Spanish province of Andalucia soared to over 40C last spring, wreaking havoc during the early growing season in the region, known for producing more olive oil annually than all of Italy

Gary Lewis of Britain’s second largest olive oil supplier, KTC, told the Times: “Olive oil is becoming more of a niche product.

“Rising prices mean that consumers have already started to move away from it and towards sunflower oil.”

Olive oil is the latest food product to see prices rise as the cost of living crisis deepens.

Grocery bills rose 13.3 percent in 2021 following high rates of inflation, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Low-fat milk, pasta, couscous and margarine saw the biggest price increases over the 12 months to November, according to the ONS.

Grocery bills rose 13.3 percent in 2021 following high rates of inflation, according to the British Retail Consortium

The smallest hit is seen in wine, root vegetables, spirits and dried fruit.

In recent months, supermarkets have quietly raised prices for ready meals and convenience foods by as much as 50 percent over the past year.

Products with the strongest price increases recorded increases of between 13.4 and 50 percent from December 2021 to December 2022.

Soaring food prices mean that many shoppers face the prospect of tighter pressures in 2023, with higher taxes and mortgage rates, reduced government support for household energy bills and UK inflation at 10.7 per cent.

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