Why is Olive Oil so Expensive?
Olive the following puns are intentional by the way
I do not know about oil of you around the globe, but the cost of a bottle of olive oil here in South Africa can create a significant dent in your pocket and I (along with you) want to know why.
The Obvious
Olive farming is costly. Think about it; olives do not just grow anywhere and in any climate. And when they finally do grow then they are not the easiest to harvest either. It is also much easier to plainly sell the raw olives as opposed to extracting the stubborn oil from them. Labour intensive processes increase the overall selling price. A fair amount of wasted food is also endured due to this process.
Importing
Think Mediterranean Coast. Think Spain, Morocco and Greece. Think…okay you get it. Olive these countries form part of the world’s main olive oil producers. So, despite there being a few olive farms in the country that you live in, most of the olive oil that you buy is either imported or made from imported olives. Importing is a significant contributing factor towards the hefty price of a bottle of olive oil.
Quality = Price
Olive oil grades vary so that explains terms such as extra virgin, refined and other labels that you see. These labels also imply price differentiations. Basically, the best quality olive oil will be made from the most suitable ripe olives. Bear in mind that each plant variety (cultivar) gives off its own unique flavour and colour. Mixing cultivars results in a cheaper quality olive oil which has an altered flavour and can therefore be sold at a cheaper price, right? Wrong. The bottle of extra virgin olive oil sitting in your cupboard may either be made from a variety of cultivars or from one cultivar. Tracing this is difficult due to all the shipping and importing aspects, therefore the varieties are usually sold at similar prices.
Is it worth it?
Health wise? Definitely. But use it sparingly; just because it’s olive oil it does not mean that you need to drown your roast veg in it. Olive oil is still oil people! An excess of most things can usually be bad for you. Olive you so hear me out; if you can afford to then invest in a good bottle of olive oil and use it sparingly, and if you cannot afford a good quality olive oil then settle for a cheaper variation (use it sparingly of course). If olive oil is completely out of your pocket’s reach then that’s okay too. Work towards reducing your oil usage to the point that you can swap that reasonably priced bottle of oil (sunflower/canola/whatever you use) for an equivalently priced smaller bottle of olive oil.
Feedback
Out of my own curiosity, how many of you use olive oil frequently and is it expensive? Leave a comment with your answers, opinions and countries that you are from. If you oil are interested in the olive oil discussion of course. I encourage oil of your olive puns too :)
