Olive oil prices set to sky rocket due to shortage

Bad weather in the Mediterranean means that many crops have failed, and an industry body has warned that we are in for pricier olive oil thanks to the freak weather.

Boss of olive oil supplier Filippo Berio recently suggested there may even have to be rationing to deal with the short supply of the ingredient. 

Wholesale costs of olive oil are up – a development sure to trickle through to supermarket pricing in time.

The wholesale price of Italian extra virgin olive oil has risen by 14 per cent, and Spanish olive oil has risen by 20 per cent thanks to demand from China and America, so says the International Olive Council in Madrid.

Salad-lovers will no doubt take the news hard as supplies of ingredients for their choice of dish seem to be dwindling across the planet.

There is soon to be a three lettuce per person maximum for Tesco and Sainsbury’s customers thanks to dodgy European weather. 

Bad weather in Spain’s Murcia region is terrible news as the area produces 80 per cent of our fresh veg too.

The cost to UK supermarkets is said to be at least £8million.

Dieter Lloyd, from the British Leafy Salads Association, explained: “Southern Spain provides around 80 per cent of the fresh produce for the EU out of season, so it is not just the UK.

“There are still stocks coming in, albeit at a reduced rate – I have seen it is as low as 30 to 50 per cent of what we normally have – but the challenge is we are not the only people buying it.” 

Mr Lloyd warned that the situation will be persist for the rest of the season. “This won’t solve itself this month or next,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Online, many shoppers have been told that iceberg, romaine and sweet gem varieties are completely out of stock.

Vegetable oil consumption has been linked to dementia in new research.

Scientists claim the oil can cause plaque build up in the brain – a known precursor to serious neurodegenerative diseases. While this is also true of other oils, it’s more prevalent in vegetable oil according to Dr Catherine Shanahan. 

The nutritionist and family physician explained the link between Alzheimer’s, dementia and vegetable oil. 

She said: “Vegetable oil causes oxidative stress, which damages brain membranes and results in plaque building up on the brain.