Supermarkets blame 20 per cent olive oil price hike on Brexit and poor harvests in Italy and Greece
Shoppers have been stung by rises of up to 20 per cent since June last year
OLIVE oil lovers are being hit with price hikes in the cost of their healthy Mediterranean foodie favourite, according to a new report yesterday.
Shoppers have been stung by rises of up to 20 per cent since the historic poll last June.
The average cost of own-brand olive oil at Sainsbury’s has increased by seven per cent year-on-year and at Tesco by six per cent, according to data from Brand View.
Trade magazine The Grocer reported yesterday that a 500ml bottle of own-label olive oil is now 35p more expensive in Sainsbury’s at £2.35 and 20p more expensive in Tesco at £2.20.
Sainsbury’s has also increased its own-label extra virgin olive oil 500ml by 10p to £2.35 —- while own-label organic extra virgin olive oil 500ml is up 20per cent in both retailers to £3.
Supermarket rival Asda has also put up the price of its own-label extra virgin olive oil 500ml by 25p to £2.25 but has not yet moved on other own-label products and is still selling its 500ml own-label olive oil product for £2.
Experts blame the struggling Pound since the vote, and poor harvests in Italy and Greece.
A spokeswoman for Sainsbury’s told The Grocer: “ The cost of olive oil —- and indeed all products —- is determined by a number of factors and prices can fluctuate.” Asda and Tesco did not comment.
The magazine says the hikes follow similar moves by discounters Alda and Lidl, which both increased the price of 750ml extra virgin olive oil by around 9per cent to £2.39 at the end of last year. The Grocer reported at the time that other supermarkets were likely to follow suit with suppliers warning that they could no longer absorb cost increases.
The report says that poor harvests mean production from Italy and Greece is set to plummet by a third in 2016/17, piling further pressure on supply chains already hit hard by the weakness of sterling.
One industry source told The Grocer: “ Olive oil prices are going up because of a combination of currency and rising raw material costs. Most private label contracts are renegotiated during December. “
The report says that Napolina olive oil is now 8per cent more expensive on average across 14 products in the major multiple retailers year on year - while average prices for Filippo Berio olive oil are up 9per cent across 32 products.
Coffee fans have also taken a hit.
Swiss firm Nescafe is understood to have asked the grocery industry to cough up more money for the its coffee and Pure Life mineral water.
related stories
Last week Sainsbury’s raised the cost of a 100g jar of Nescafe Original from £2.75 to £3.15. Suppliers of coffee, which is priced in dollars, have also been hit by poor harvests.
Nestle said: “The final price the consumer pays for our products is set by individual retailers.”
Bruno Monteyne, a supermarket analyst at Bernstein Research, said: “If you’re buying a product from Asia or Europe, it is up to 17 per cent more expensive now.
“Nobody can stop that and it’s inevitable that price rises will come through.”