Supermarkets ‘taking the mickey’ out of shoppers with olive oil prices, says Filippo Berio boss | Money News

Supermarkets are “taking the mickey out” of shoppers over their olive oil prices, the boss of Filippo Berio has told the Money blog.

Walter Zanre said supermarkets were yet to bring down prices for customers, despite the costs of olive oil falling in recent months.

A 500ml bottle of Filippo Berio’s extra virgin olive oil now costs around £7.50, down from £10.50 at the start of 2025 – but up from £3.75 in 2022.

“We brought prices down twice last year and it’s not all been passed on to the consumer, which is a huge frustration,” he said.

“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.”

Olive oil prices have surged in recent years, hitting record highs in 2023 and 2024, as key exporter countries suffered from severe weather conditions and poor harvests.

“What really surprised me was how resilient the UK consumer had been in the face of this. Consumption probably declined about 20% in the UK, but I was expecting it to literally fall off the edge of a cliff,” Zanre said.

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The British Retail Consortium, which represents major supermarkets, disagreed with Zanre.

Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability at the BRC, said: “Retailers work hard to pass on cost savings to customers wherever possible and, as confirmed by the CMA, 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’s harvest recovers

Spain, the biggest producer of olive oil in the world, suffered two “very poor harvests” in 2022 and 2023, dipping to almost half of its usual output, and ultimately pushing up prices.

Figures from the International Olive Council showed it fell from nearly 1.5m tonnes in 2021-22 to 666,000 tonnes in 2022-23, and 854,000 tonnes in 2023-24.

It estimates that Spain will produce 1.37m tonnes this year, showing it’s starting to recover to typical levels.

Check out the Money blog on Thursday morning for part two of our look at the olive oil market – and how Helen Mirren could help to bring your food bills down.