He Olive oil is undoubtedly one of the foods that has been most expensive in Spain, in recent times. Although at a nutritional level, it is still the fat par excellence: all nutritionists, doctors and health specialists, without exception, recommend its use for both cooking and dressing. Its benefit lies in its great content in unsaturated fats that it contains (the so-called good and heart-healthy fats).

However, the price is not so healthy for our pockets, after increase its price by 52.5% annually in August, followed by sugar, which is sold 42.5% more expensive. The latest disaggregated data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), released this Tuesday, September 12, by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), show the upward trend of olive oil, in contrast to other edible oils, which They have become cheaper by 33.9% in the last year.

The poor harvest of the current campaignwhich has fallen by half compared to the previous harvest due to the drought, and the poor prospects for the next harvest explain the rise in the price of olive oil at origin, with extra virgin above the 8 euros per literwhile in supermarkets it already exceeds 10 euros.

In just one month, between July and August, olive oil became more expensive by 8.7%, more than any other food, and in the first eight months of the year it accumulated an increase of 25.9%. On the contrary, other edible oils have experienced falls of 3.4% compared to July and 26.6% between January and August compared to the same period in 2022, in line with the evolution of international prices.

Overcome the effect of war in ukraineworld prices ofvegetable oils like sunflower have fallen in the last month due to the abundance of supplies from the main exporters, which has eased tensions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In Spain, the unknown of how much will it rain in the next campaignThe fact that it begins in October keeps the price of olive oil skyrocketing and the producing sector attributes the situation to a shortage of product. After olive oil, the food that has become most expensive since August 2022 has been sugar (+42.5%), although its price did not change in the last month and has barely accumulated an increase of 2.7%. between January and August. Spain is deficient in sugar and, in addition, this year’s beet production will be compromised by the drought and scarce water reserves.

The international context also influences, with sugar prices rising amid concern about the impact that the El Niño phenomenon on global production prospects, Inter alia. Rice has been another of the foods that has increased the most in price in the last year (+21.6%), although it did not experience changes compared to July, and had an increase of 8.1% in its price in the eight first months of the year. Added to the loss of the harvest in Spain due to lack of water are trade tensions in world trade, after India banned the export of rice in July to control domestic prices.