The price of olive oil is set to soar as heatwaves hit production in Spain, the supplier of the UK's major supermarkets has warned. Shoppers at Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Asda will all be affected by the news from producer Acestur, which said that prices could rise by 20-25% in the coming months.
Spain, Italy and Portugal have been experiencing “extreme” temperatures and a lack of rain in recent weeks. Around 1.4 million tonnes of olive oil is produced in Spain each year, and Acestur produces aout 200,000 tonnes of that, selling to over 100 countries. The company packs own-label olive oil for Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Asda as well as its own La Espanola brand, selling around 20,000 tonnes to the UK in total every year.
The price increase comes as the average price of own-label olive oil was up by 50.2% on last year at the beginning of August.
