Nov. 11, 2020
Daniel DawsonA newly-published report from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food confirms the anecdotal evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic increased domestic demand for olive oil.
Individual household olive oil consumption increased by 12.7 percent in the rolling 12-month period that ended in July 2020, compared with the previous one.
See Also: Olive Oil Consumption in Spain Continues to GrowAccording to the report, the months with the highest rates of individual domestic consumption coincided with the country’s first state of alarm, which lasted from March 14 to June 21.
A state of alarm is the lowest of the three degrees of state of emergency.
Over the four-month period, Spaniards consumed an average of 33,860 tons of olive oil per month. Meanwhile, in the remaining eight months of the rolling year, Spanish households consumed an average of 28,160 tons of olive oil per month.
Olive oil consumption hit its highest points in both March and May, reaching 34,690 tons and 34,880 tons, respectively.
The substantial increase in household olive oil consumption is expected to help offset the severe losses being faced by the country’s producers, many of whom have been negatively affected by the pandemic’s impact on trade as well as the restaurant and hospitality sector.
The trend of increasing household consumption is also likely to continue as a new state of alarm was issued by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez late last month and could last until May. In many parts of the country, Spaniards are being urged to remain at home once again.
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