UDPATE: Want to see the commodity market update for the 2014-2015 harvest season? Read the latest here: Olive Oil Prices And Commodity Market Update: Spring 2015
As discussed in prior commodity market updates, Spain had an even better harvest in 2013/14 than predicted, with record volumes of olive oil produced (1,752,100 tons in Spain alone). This reflects an increase of 16% in comparison to the prior harvest year of 2012/13, which yielded a surprisingly low crop volume and caused an international jump in the price of olive oil.
The total global production of olive oil for the 2013/14 harvest year was assessed around 3,150,000 tons.
Import Trends
Over the harvest season (October 2013-February 2014), imports of olive oil and olive pomace oil decreased in the following countries: Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, Canada and the USA. Japan is the only country that saw an increase in imports.
This came as a surprise, as many experts had predicted a increase in imports globally due to higher production levels and the corresponding decrease in prices. These imported oils typically originated from the following Mediterranean countries: Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisia.
Olive Oil Prices
This years plentiful harvest season brought about better olive oil prices, as an average across the world.
Global average prices are down significantly in comparison to the 2012/2013 harvest season. But, prices have not returned to the levels that we saw in the few years before then. It’s widely considered unlikely that prices will return to those record lows this year, though it’s possible in years to come.
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Comparing Olive Oil Prices In Each Country
Before we begin, our readers should keep in mind that when comparing prices below, the numbers will not reflect their own rates. These values are helpful for comparing specific countries oil, but do not reflect accurate or current US rates.
Italy
Looking at each producing country individually, Italy’s prices have increased markedly over the spring with producer prices resting around €3.40 /kg in April 2014.
Greece
In comparison to Italy, Greece’s prices have increased only slightly, with rates at €2.56 /kg in April.
Tunisia
Tunisia has had some interesting changes-- their prices were higher in 2012/13 to match the higher spanish market at the time. However, as Spain’s prices have dropped, Tunisia’s prices have also dropped slightly to match, but not at the same intensity. They have had more difficulty lowering their prices to match Spain’s, as they’ve had a significant drop in production this harvest season, which normally would cause an increase in prices.
Spain
Rates in Spain have stayed quite steady over this spring, resting at €2.02 /kg in April. This is a striking difference from their recent high of €3.00 /kg in the harvest of 2012/13.
At the end of April, the price of refined olive oil from Spain was slightly less than the price from Italy.
Future Indications
The numbers above can give you a good indication of the best countries to buy bulk olive oil from and why Centra Foods sources their olive oil primarily from Spain at the moment.
Every year, as we are approaching the next harvest in October, it's common that supply becomes tighter. Prices in the last month have begun to rise ever so slightly. At this point, harvest expectations for the next year are unknown. It's possible this increasing price trend may continue as summer proceeds, but it will likely continue to be slight.
For more information on the current commodity market, please request a consult. Or, if you’d like to learn more about the current producer prices and where they’ve been in the past, visit our Commodity Market Tracking Tool.
Information Source: International Olive Council
Topics: Harvest/Commodity Market
