The boss of a major olive oil brand has accused supermarkets of “taking the mickey” out of shoppers over the pricing of the product.
Filippo Berio director Walter Zanre said that stores are delaying bringing down olive oil prices for customers despite wholesale costs falling in recent months.
The price of olive oil has seen a notable rise in recent years, with exporting countries suffering from adverse weather and poor harvests.
A 500ml bottle of Filippo Berio has decreased from £10.50 at the start of 2025 to £7.50 today, but is still up from £3.75 in 2022.
Mr Zanre told Sky News: “We brought prices down twice last year and it’s not all been passed on to the consumer, which is a huge frustration.
“We can’t dictate retail prices… For me, it’s immensely frustrating that they’ve taken the opportunity to expand their margins – whereas in reality, we should be offering better value.
“It’s almost like taking the mickey, and I think what’s causing it is that even the supermarket was surprised at how resilient the shopper was at high prices, so the view is they don’t need to give it all away for nothing.
“What really surprised me was how resilient the UK consumer had been in the face of this. Consumption probably declined about 20 per cent in the UK, but I was expecting it to literally fall off the edge of a cliff.”
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Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, said in response: “Retailers work hard to pass on cost savings to customers wherever possible and, as confirmed by the Competition and Markets Authority, operate on very tight margins, reflecting a market driven by savvy customers.
“Olive oil, like many everyday products, is something shoppers can compare across brands and retailers to take advantage of promotions or switch to alternatives that suit their budget.”
Spain is the biggest producer of olive oil in the world, but poor harvests in 2022 and 2023 saw the country export almost half of its usual output.
Production fell from nearly 1.5 million tonnes in 2021-2022 to 666,000 tonnes in 2022-2023, and 854,000 in 2023-2024, figures from the International Olive Council show.
The body estimates that Spain will produce 1.37 million tonnes this year, sparking hopes that olive oil prices will begin to return to more stable levels.