There May Be an Olive Oil Shortage Hitting the U.S. Soon — Here’s Why
We’re a little hot under the collar about the recent attacks on our stocked kitchen pantries. For various reasons, we’ve been subjected to potential shortages of mustard, avos, chickpeas, and even – gasp – frozen pizza. Recently, scorching temps plaguing certain areas of Europe and the States are threatening another one of our cooking besties — olive oil.
As Spain takes the crown as the world’s largest olive oil producer (“by a wide margin,” if you ask the experts at Olive Oil Times), the country accounts for nearly half of the world’s olive oil supply. But on the heels of a massive heat wave (named “Zoe”) in Seville and other parts of southern Spain, and more on the way (“Yago,” “Xenia,” “Wenceselao,” and “Vega,” for those keeping track at home), those crops are in serious danger as temps skyrocketed well over 100 degrees during record-setting June and July heat surges.
“If there is no temperature relief or rains in the coming weeks, this year’s olive harvest could be notably lower than previous ones,” Spain’s Agriculture Minister Luis Planas told Bloomberg in a recent article, noting this could be the country’s worst olive harvest in years.
Parts of Italy — another one of the world’s biggest olive oil producers — are also experiencing their worst droughts in more than 70 years. And as expected, this could also result in olive oil production decreasing by 20 to 30 percent this year, according to analysts. So as with many of your other favorite items, if you want to keep your shelves stocked with the golden oil, you might be paying more.
According to a European Commission report, the current price of olive oil is up 19 percent above the five-year-average in Spain, and it has increased by 16 percent throughout the European Union.
Of course, only time will tell what’s in store for the fate of olive oil in the U.S., but if you’re looking to stock up just in case, you can nab 15 percent off of the Brightland brand now with our exclusive discount.