The price of olive oil has surprised even those who work with the product every day. Olive oil consumption by the Portuguese has already decreased and it is uncertain whether prices will fall, despite the prospect of a good campaign this year.
António Dias’ passion for olive oil led him to build a museum to share his lifelong knowledge. What he never thought was that in the five years that the space is now celebrating, the price of olive oil would have increased the way it did.
“I never thought. It’s really a high price for the purchasing power that people have”, says the founder of the Olive Oil Museum, António Dias, when asked about the price increase.
According to Eurostat, Portugal was the country in the European Union where, in the last year, the price of olive oil rose the most, by around 69%.
“The campaign here in the country was still reasonable, the problem is that the Spanish came and took the product. This year, due to the cold and lots of rain, there are even good prospects for the next campaign”, he adds.
A similar scenario in Mediterranean countries where olive oil has been interconnected with culture for millennia.
“Liquid gold is the basis of our diet. It is permanent, not only in food, but in cosmetics, in health. Olives are a sustainable good. When extracting olive oil there will always be olive paste, which is called the second oil”, says the director of the Olive Oil Museum, Alexandra Dias.
High prices still have some positive consequences, which is why there are olive groves being reborn in Bobadela after the destruction caused by the 2017 fires.
