Spain’s National Association of Industrial Packagers and Edible Oil Refiners (ANIERAC) announced yesterday that the country’s olive oil sales reached 351.5 million liters (302,290 metric tons) between October 2014 and September 2015, down 5.55 percent from the year before, when 372.2 million liters (320,092 tons) were sold.
Anierac, which represents 80 percent of Spain’s olive oil- and seed oil-producing companies, also revealed that 111 million liters (95,460 tons) were sold of extra virgin olive oil, down 7.62 percent from last year’s 120 million liters (103,200 tons).
Sales of virgin olive oil slipped 3.26 percent to 50.4 million liters (43,344 tons).
“Suave olive oil” saw a 6.39 percent decrease, selling 132 million liters, and “intense olive oil” sales were down just 1.34 percent to 58 million liters.
Olive pomace oil sales climbed to 16 million liters, which is roughly 2 million more than sold the year before.
Anierac’s Director Primitivo Fernández told Olive Oil Times the overall decrease in sales was surely related to rising olive oil prices caused by recent low-producing harvests. As such, consumers have opted for cheaper alternatives.
Fernández pointed out that despite the large increase in olive oil prices over the course of last year’s harvest — a 51 percent surge between May 2014 and October 2015 — sales have only dropped 5.55 percent.
In light of yesterday’s news that Spain’s 2015 – 2016 harvest should yield higher olive oil production, the hope is that these elevated prices will go down and sales will again increase.
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