Inflation and poor harvests have caused the price of olive oil to jump at the grocery store, pushing more and more Quebecers to replace it with less expensive oils. Local producers have also paid the price, and hope that the most recent harvests, much better, could finally put an end to this dizzying increase.
“Olive oil was already a little more expensive than the others, but now it has almost become a luxury product,” says Sylvain Charlebois, principal director of the agri-food analytical sciences laboratory at Dalhousie University.
In just three years, the average price of a liter of olive oil has doubled in Quebec, going from $9 in October 2021 to $18 last October. The last time it fell below $8 was in March 2021, according to Statistics Canada.
It must be said that the olive harvests in Europe – which produces two thirds of the olive oil consumed in the world – were particularly bad during the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 seasons due to the increase in droughts .
Among the largest producers, Spain produced only 620,000 tonnes of olive oil during the 2022-2023 harvest, compared to 1.5 million tonnes the previous year, Mr. Charlebois gives as an example.
Fewer sales
With less olive oil on the market and global demand holding up, prices have inevitably soared in grocery stores. In an inflationary context, many Quebecers preferred to reduce their consumption of this product and turn to another, more affordable vegetable oil.
“In volume terms, we sold less extra-virgin olive oil in 2024 than in the previous five years. The higher prices barely cushioned the losses,” notes Élisabeth Bélanger, president and CEO of Maison Orphée, whose products can be found on the shelves of most major brands.
“We have been eating margins for two years. We should have increased more, but we were stuck with negotiating issues with the big chains,” says M with regret.me Bélanger, specifying that it had increased the cost of its products by only 45% in two years, while its competitors doubled theirs.
In return, it has seen its sales of sunflower and avocado oil increase in the last year. It has also been offering a brand new product to its customers since 2023, “the perfect oil”, which is a mixture of olive, sesame, flax, sunflower and canola oil. “It allows us to have an attractive price, cheaper for consumers. »
Daniel Dubé, founder of the Pré rieur farm, has seen sales of his sunflower oil increase in the last year. “What strikes us most is that in salons, we meet people who are used to olive oil, but who are looking for alternatives because it has become too expensive,” he emphasizes.
Limit the increase
Other companies, such as Olives et gourmandises, which specialize mainly in olive oil, have instead sought to cut related costs to avoid increasing the price of their products too much and thus retain their customers. “I buy in larger quantities to get better prices. I negotiate the price of bottles, caps and labels. We are also looking to save bottling time by investing in a cork machine,” explains co-owner Catherine Veilleux.
The strategy is essentially the same for the company Sous les oliviers. The founder, Josée Nadeau, even went to Italy in June to find new producers offering better prices.
A drop in prices?
“The good news is that we finally see light at the end of the tunnel,” says a relieved Élisabeth Bélanger, from Maison Orphée.
Last season’s harvests in Europe are very good, which should calm prices on the market. “Wholesale prices are expected to decrease by 50%. We can therefore expect less pressure on retail prices. Prices will stop increasing and even decrease in grocery stores. This is already the case in Europe,” indicates Sylvain Charlebois.
This will at least be the case for the largest banners, which have negotiated their contracts in advance. The situation is likely to be more difficult for small independent producers, according to him.
Catherine Veilleux, from Olives et gourmandises, fears that the drop in prices could be reflected on the local market. “Our exchange rate is really not advantageous at the moment, the value of the Canadian dollar has fallen. It will affect us in the coming months when we go to buy in Europe,” she believes.
“It is certain that the situation is worrying for the future. With climate change, we must expect to experience good and less good years in our environment, adds Josée Nadeau of Sous les oliviers. But I am an eternal optimist. Things are not bad everywhere at the same time in the world, we can change producers and collectively find solutions. »
