(Finance) – Transforming the inflationary thrust generated by the production crisis of Italian oil into an opportunity for repositioning upwards on the market: it is the “good purpose” for the Made in Italy olive supply chain that emerged today A sol2expo (Veronafiere, 2-4 March) during the dedicated conference to “The olive oil market in Italy and Europe: reality and prospects”. According to the analysis of the Observatory Sol2expo-nomisma Presented, in GDO the average growth of prices deriving from the scarcity of offer at national and global level has already reduced from 47% of 2022 to 20% in 2024 the differential existing between the community extra virgin olive oil (which continues to represent the best -selling type, with a volume share of 62%) and “100% Italian”. This price approach has made it more “Attractive” to the consumer the product obtained from Italian olives, whose average shelf price is rightly higher.
For Denis Pantini, Agro -food manager of Nomisma: “In this period so lively for the market, the hope is that the Italian consumer acquires greater awareness On the real value of the extra virgin olive oil, leading it to recognize the EVO, as a prince food (with a capital A, considered its healthy and organoleptic properties) of the Mediterranean diet and not a simple condiment or ingredient to be used in the kitchen “.
On the modern distribution front (On Nielseniq base), the main sales channel of olive oil within national borders, the last three years are marked by the combined effects of inflation and an extraordinarily light production, which have led to a reduction in volume sales of extra virgin olive oil (between 2022 and 2024) by 10% compared to a 64% increase in value.
As for the foreign market, oggI Evo’s exports from Italy reaches a total of 160 countries, But – reports the Sol2expo -nomisma observatory – 65%of the value of sales abroad are made in the 5 top markets, with the United States at the head of 32%followed – at a distance – from Germany (15.5%), France (7.9%), Canada (4.7%) and Japan (5.3%). However, there is no lack of signs of dynamism. Between January and November 2024, Made in Italy olive oil recorded above average performance in Germany (+58% the growth of the tricolor against an increase in imports of 42%), South Korea (+141% vs+86%), Australia (192% vs 106%) and Mexico (99% vs 82%). The olive extra virgin olive, in particular, has scored interesting growth also on the volumes front in South Korea and Germany, where the quantities increased by 82% and 19.4% respectively on the figures of 2023, in the face of an increase in value by 152.6% towards Seoul and 68% towards Berlin.
In 20 years the world consumption of olive oil has grown “in small steps” (from 2.7 to 3 million tons), denoting the most relevant growth rates in non-EU countries, which have seen their weight increase from 28% to 57%. Consumption has increased in markets not “traditionally” producers while decreasing in Italy, Spain and Greece. Among the top consumer markets, the demand in the United States has grown (+35%between 2014 and 2024), in Brazil (+42%) and in France (+6%), and if Europe and North America are confirmed by the main import areas, there are very interesting growth signals in South America and Asia, with increases in double digits of imports between 2013 and 2023 in Chile and Peru (+15%), Colombia (+13%), South Korea (+12%) and Indonesia (+11%).
The conference also intervened Giulia Ventura, Business Development Manager Agro -Food of Alibaba.com Italy.