Olive oil consumer prices rose sharply in recent years, increasing by 78% between 2022 and 2024. In 2025, they fell by 23% across the EU, the first decline after four consecutive years of increases — according to Eurostat. The decline was larger in several countries, mainly major producers.
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So why are olive oil prices falling across Europe after a period of sharp increases? And which countries have seen the largest declines in olive oil prices?
Years of price rises
Prices rose by 4.1% in 2021, 14.5% in 2022, 34.4% in 2023, and 32.2% in 2024.
Looking at year-on-year monthly changes, olive oil price inflation exceeded 50% in several months from early 2021 onwards in the EU.
In March 2024, the rate reached 52.4%. It was also above 50% in several months in late 2023.
“Due to the lack of production in the two previous seasons (from 2022 to 2024), caused by the extreme drought that affected the entire Mediterranean region, but particularly Spain, combined with low stocks, the only way to regulate the market was through price increases”, Mariana Matos, general secretary of Casa do Azeite, the Portuguese Olive Oil Association, told Euronews Business.
Sharp decline in production
Figures from the International Olive Council (IOC) show a sharp decline in EU olive oil production in recent seasons. Production fell by 39% in the 2022/23 season, dropping to 1.39 million tonnes from 2.27 million tonnes in 2021/22.
Output recovered to 1.55 million tonnes in 2023/24, but this was still well below the average.
Provisional figures suggest production will rise to about 2,110 thousand tonnes in the 2024/25 season. It is then expected to remain slightly below that level in 2025/26.
The IOC underlined that the summer heatwave of 2022 significantly affected key olive-producing countries in the Mediterranean region.
“In any market, variations in supply generate corresponding downward or upward pressures on prices,” an IOC spokesperson told Euronews Business.
Spain is the EU’s largest olive oil producer, accounting for more than 65% of EU production in the last season.
Among 35 European countries, Spain recorded the largest drop in olive oil consumer prices in 2025, at 38.9%. Greece followed with a decline of 29.2%, and Portugal at 24%. These were the only three countries where prices fell by more than the EU average.
Among the EU’s ‘Big Four’, France saw the smallest decline, while prices fell more sharply in Italy and Germany.
By contrast, the largest price increase was recorded in Albania, followed by Romania.
Turkey is not included in Eurostat data. According to Turkish statistics, prices for other edible oils, including olive oil and sunflower oil, rose by 31% between December 2024 and December 2025.
Poor harvest and energy costs
“Over the previous two years, the combination of consecutive poor harvests, supply shortages, and energy costs pushed consumer prices to historically high levels,” Rafael Pico Acevedo, director of Spanish Olive Oil Exporters Association (ASOLIVA), told Euronews Business.
“The significant improvement in production in the 2024/25 season, particularly in southern Europe, has helped normalise supply and ease these pressures, resulting in pronounced price declines.”
Acevedo emphasised that differences between countries largely reflect their role within the value chain. In the main producing countries, such as Spain, Greece, and Portugal, greater product availability is transmitted more quickly to prices at origin and subsequently to consumer prices.
“In these markets, the impact of a good harvest is more direct and visible, which explains the sharper declines,” he said.
Mariana Matos said that, alongside higher supply returning to average levels, lower demand is also pushing prices down. Earlier price rises led to a sharp fall in olive oil consumption.
Dining and Cooking