The controversy began in Ireland after a Spanish expat posted a video showing olive oil in a Dublin supermarket priced cheaper on Spanish shelves. Soon, numerous clips surfaced across Europe showing bottles of Spanish extra virgin olive oil in shops where the price appeared lower than the origin country.
Olive oil, the flagship product of the Mediterranean diet, has reached new heights. Spain stands as the world’s largest producer. A cascade of factors pushed prices to record highs, yet some non-producing nations can source cheaper oil. This isn’t a scam; it’s market data. The question is why this price gap exists.
El Periódico de España, published by Prensa Ibérica, prepared a report on EVOO prices across the Eurozone and neighboring regions where olive oil is widely consumed, including the United Kingdom, Poland, and Croatia. By surveying major supermarkets in each country, the report identified the cheapest extra virgin olive oil and compared it with its Spanish counterpart.
The market is volatile and shifts almost daily. As this issue closes, the lowest EVOO offer in Spain came from the Alcampo chain: a one-liter bottle of Maestros de Hojiblanca priced at 8.38 euros. Carrefour, Aldi, and Lidl followed closely with white EVOO at 8.49 euros per liter, and Mercadona at 8.5 euros.
Prices in other European countries, which are not major producers, differ markedly. A striking example is white label EVOO at Tesco in Ireland, at 4.7 euros per liter. Ireland, the continent’s lowest-priced country, does not cultivate olives or produce oil, yet the oil’s origin is Spanish.
The second-cheapest EVOO price in Europe is shared by Belgium and Luxembourg, where large-distribution chains like Lidl offer one-liter bottles of EVOO with Spanish origin for 5.99 euros per liter. If the quality bar is lowered to non-extra virgin, a one-liter bottle can be found for 5.09 euros in the same store. Those prices have not been seen in Spain for some time.
EVOO at Carrefour France has been observed cheaper than Carrefour Spain.
According to the table, at least 11 Eurozone countries can purchase EVOO more cheaply than in Spain, including Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, France, and Portugal, with 13 countries like Croatia and Poland also showing cheaper shelf prices. The European Union nations and other large consumers do not issue the euro price on the label. Notably, Carrefour France lists white label EVOO at 7.95 euros per liter, while Carrefour Spain lists it at 8.49 euros.
Estonia shows the highest price in Europe, where a half-liter Borges EVOO is sold for 6.59 euros (13.18 per liter). The average price in Spain sits around 8.45 euros per liter, close to the cheapest European offer and well above Ireland’s low price of 4.7 euros per liter.
Keys
What explains this confusion? Is Spain pushing its EVOO price up for locals? Could a nationwide campaign by supermarkets be at play? What about pricing tactics abroad? The main associations of olive oil producers and exporters were consulted to understand the factors behind this phenomenon that impacts Spaniards’ wallets.
One quoted factor notes a sharp drop in production due to climate issues. The 2022 drought reduced harvests significantly, affecting the blooming olive tree and the autumn season. Primitivo Fernández, managing director of the National Industrial Packaging and Edible Oil Refineries Association, explains that harvests fell far short of expectations while fixed costs for pruning, fertilizing, harvesting, energy, diesel, fertilizer, transport, and wages rose, driving higher production costs overall.
Also, packaging costs have climbed. While 85-90 percent of the consumer price goes to oil, the remaining 10-15 percent covers packaging. These increases must be absorbed by producers to avoid losses, in line with the Food Chain Law, which constrains how sellers can respond.
Yet price rises are not uniform across Europe. Some regions do not reflect higher costs the same way, and cheaper oil can be found in other countries even when Spanish production faced a drought. The reasons involve supply dynamics and market rotation, not a single culprit.
Rotation of shelves helps explain the disparities. Rafael Pico, general manager of Asoliva, notes that Spain is a fast-rotating market for olive oil, with bottles moving off shelves within about 15 days. In other countries, olive oil sits longer, sometimes over a year, before being replaced. This lag means old pricing can persist while the market adjusts to new costs and supply conditions—the result of weather, harvest outcomes, and shifting consumption patterns.
In terms of origins and labeling, production in the previous year dropped by about 600 thousand tons—from roughly 1.5 million to around 900 thousand tons. The tightening offer was anticipated by September, and other markets such as Australia and Italy expanded production. In the U.K., a notable amount of Tunisian oil enjoyed duty-free access, affecting price levels.
Pico points out that many inexpensive oils found in Europe come from large distribution chains like Aldi, Lidl, and Tesco. Their scale enables long-term deals that keep price points low. He also notes that some countries label Spanish oil as Italian to boost perceived prestige, a trend that helps explain trade flows and brand strength in markets like Germany, where Spain remains a leading exporter ahead of Italy in many cases.
Ultimately, Pico believes strengthening the Spanish brand will help balance prices as Europe’s shelves refresh with EVOO from a drought-affected 2022 harvest and as global demand evolves. The price gap is likely to narrow as supermarkets nationwide adjust, but market dynamics will continue to influence where and how EVOO is sold across Europe and beyond.