Olive oil shortage. That’s our Hot Topic Sizzle today!
I HAVEN’T HEARD ABOUT A SHORTAGE, CHEF!
Of course not. That’s why you read our Hot Topic Sizzle weekly report!
Eden Foods claims: “Olive oil aficionados know where the best olive oil in the world comes from – Andalucia Spain. Approximately 60 percent of the world’s olive oil comes from Spain”.
Today’s article on Market Watch clearly talks about the concern: “Spanish drought stirs fears of olive oil shortage”.
SPAIN IS EXPERIENCING A DROUGHT, CHEF?
Oh yeah. Spain, California…. we’re all playin’ in the same band!
The article goes on to say:
“This year’s crop from some Spanish farms could be down 40% from 2013, according to oilseeds forecasting agency Oil World. Very dry weather in the key olive-producing region of Andalusia in May and June ravaged the olive trees during their flowering period, when they need moisture for the fruit to ripen correctly”.
THAT’S NEWS CHEF!
Oh yeah. And it’s important to know that because….?
“The drought in Spain and its impact on the olive market is potentially very significant,” said Lamine Lahouasnia, head of packaged food at Euromonitor International. “If the drought does end up adversely affecting Spanish yields, it is very likely that we’ll see rising consumer prices in 2014.”
Rising prices….. always. You just have to stay on top with what’s going on in the world, so that there are no big surprises. I think that olive oil and grapeseed oil are my two favorite oils right now, but I am always trying new things like walnut, pecan and avocado oils… and they’re pretty good too!
By the way, this is not the first time Spain has had problems with their olive crops….
“The drought has raised memories of 2012, when a heat wave wiped out 80% of the Spanish crop and pushed up the price of olives at the farm gate level by as much as 30%. That led the price of olive oil in shops in Spain to rise by as much as 13% in the last quarter of 2012, according to data from the Andalusia government. In the U.S. the price of olive oil imported from Europe rose 8% between October and December 2012, according to U.S. customs data”.
So if you are using olive oil from Spain… this is a ‘heads up’ sizzle report! You may want to start experimenting with other oils that are good for you. Do the research on the web to make sure you are getting good oils….
I feel a little ‘out of it’ because I don’t use olive oil from Spain. Tried it once of twice, but I am way happier with Italian Olive Oil.
And yet they say in this article: “Spain is the world’s largest producer of olives, accounting for 50% of total global output followed by Italy at 15%, Greece 13% and Turkey 5%, IOC data show”.
Wow. Am I a lone soldier? Are you using Olive Oil from Italy, Spain or Greece? Or have you stopped using oil at all because you’ve gone raw? (Bad idea).
Below asks for comments. Talk to me.
Happy Eating,
Chef Marian