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Olive oil sales in Spain have risen sigÂnifÂiÂcantly in the 2019/20 crop year, with a 17 perÂcent increase in volÂume and an 8 perÂcent increase in prices. The trend is expected to conÂtinue due to growÂing interÂnaÂtional demand, despite slightly lower proÂducÂtion levÂels and averÂage storÂage.
The latÂest data from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food show that olive oil sales by both volÂume and prices conÂtinue to rise in the 2019/20 crop year, conÂfirmÂing a growÂing trend.
Olive oil sales have reached 872,900 tons so far, 17 perÂcent above the averÂage sales of the last four seaÂsons and eight perÂcent above the preÂviÂous year.
Additionally, averÂage monthly sales have exceeded 145,000 tons, a record, accordÂing to the minÂistry, and a sign of a conÂtinÂuÂing rebound for the secÂtor.
See Also:Olive Oil Prices Hit Two-Year High in SpainAccording to the figÂures, prices are expeÂriÂencÂing simÂiÂlar growth, with a 41.5‑percent spike since the beginÂning of the curÂrent seaÂson, reachÂing €2.87 per liter. Those figÂures place the curÂrent prices 48 perÂcent above those received by proÂducÂers last seaÂson.
The minÂistry said that the trend appears to be accelÂerÂatÂing since the averÂage price in the last two weeks of March was far higher than the averÂage of the preÂviÂous four weeks.
The minÂistry added that sales by volÂume should conÂtinue at this rate throughÂout the rest of the curÂrent seaÂson due to the growÂing interÂnaÂtional demand, which has been parÂtially fueled by the four-month freeze on tarÂiffs agreed between the United States and the European Union in March.
Prices should also remain steady since proÂducÂtion in the curÂrent seaÂson fared slightly below expecÂtaÂtions in Spain and most of the other major proÂducÂing counÂtries, and storÂage is curÂrently estiÂmated to be at an averÂage level.
In this sceÂnario, exports are again fuelÂing the growth, conÂfirmÂing the trend already seen in the 2019/20 crop year. Exports topped 566,600 tons, with an averÂage nine-perÂcent increase comÂpared with the preÂviÂous seaÂson and a more proÂnounced growth in the last two months.
Seven-perÂcent growth is being estiÂmated for the domesÂtic sales, reachÂing 302,300 tons and farÂing 14-perÂcent above the averÂage of the last four seaÂsons.
The latÂest figÂures build on the good results announced by the minÂistry in January, which showed that domesÂtic olive oil sales had grown by 18.7 perÂcent in the first two months of the crop year. Those data placed sales already 36 perÂcent above the averÂage of the same period of the last four seaÂsons.
The domesÂtic sales growth conÂtinÂues to folÂlow a trend. Last July, the minÂistry conÂfirmed that Spanish houseÂholds had conÂsumed 13 perÂcent more olive oil in 2019 than the preÂviÂous year.
Despite the devÂasÂtatÂing impacts of the Covid-19 panÂdemic on the counÂtry, the minÂistry also conÂfirmed a 12.7‑percent growth in houseÂhold olive oil conÂsumpÂtion in 2020, with increased demand for extra virÂgin olive oil parÂtially fuelÂing the growth.