Assitol: Beware of the return of oil sales below cost, they must be banned

The French say: create absence. To make the product missing in order to support prices or, better still, to raise positioning. An operation that in recent years, thanks to the real Spanish production ‘hole’ two seasons ago, has also succeeded for extra virgin olive oil. Which since that season has achieved a much better price positioning than in the past. In the large-scale distribution for extra virgin mixtures, a price of around 10 euros per litre has been reached (and maintained for a long time).

Now, however, with the return to normal market and supply conditions, there is a strong risk – through thepractice of selling below cost – that prices will return to levels that are ‘debasing’ for a quality product (and one with multiple values) such as extra virgin olive oil.

This is the meaning of the alarm launched by Assitol (the association of Italian olive oil industries). “Enough with undercutting,” explained Assitol, “and yes instead to the valorisation of extra virgin olive oil. Involving the entire supply chain, not only its agricultural component but also large-scale distribution and catering’. One of the first effects of the return to a more balanced production scenario is precisely the revival of sales below cost.

Italian legislation allows extra virgin olive oil to be marketed at a price below its cost only once a year. But the reality is very different: for years, we have witnessed the use of promotions in an indiscriminate manner, with no regard for seasonality and with wide discretionary power on the part of large-scale distribution.

“Olive oil is not a commodity, nor just any condiment,’ emphasises president Anna Cane, ‘but an essential product for the health of consumers. In this campaign, which promises to be on the rise, after years of drought and declining production, it is right to reiterate this in order to raise awareness throughout the sector.”Because of the continuous promotions, they add at Assitol, consumers have become accustomed to looking more and more for the product below cost, without thinking about the real value of extra virgin and all its distinctive elements compared to other food products.