Spain: Sunflower oil is replacing olive oil in homes

Hiszpania: Olej słonecznikowy wypiera oliwę z oliwek z domów

Sunflower oil is replacing olive oil on the Spanish market, warns Spain's largest Association of Olive Oil Producers, Anierac. According to data from the industry organization, in the first half of this year, Spaniards bought 107 million liters of olive oil, but as many as 179 million liters of sunflower oil.

As Reuters reports, Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil, yet rising prices are forcing consumers to switch to cheaper options. Sunflower oil is winning the competition in terms of price. This is a completely new phenomenon, observed since 2024. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2023, olive oil accounted for 62% of sales, while sunflower oil accounted for less than 34%.

-It is obvious that olive oil consumption in Spain is falling. There are farms that used to buy only olive oil, now they buy sunflower seeds – complains Primitivo Fernandez, a representative of Anierac.

Trade is getting richer, but not farmers

According to the organization, sales of olive oil in natural terms fell by 18% compared to the first half of 2023. Sales of sunflower oil in natural terms increased by 25% last year.

Spanish olive oil producers blame the drastic drop in popularity among customers on retail chains pushing up the price of olive oil. Official figures showed that a bottle of sunflower oil cost an average of €1.86 per litre last year, while better types of olive oil cost more than €6 per litre, up 50% on 2022.

But farmers and producers are not getting rich. Supermarkets are making huge profits, charging 59% of the original price. The producer price has only gone up by 3%, says Carles Peris Ramos, secretary general of the farmers' association La Unió.

The big retail chains deny this. According to consumer organisations, prices in shops are still too high, despite the total abolition of VAT on olive oil in Spain from 1 July this year.