Vancouver-area businesses struggle amid rising olive oil prices - Action News
Home WebMail Wednesday, November 13, 2024, 02:40 AM | Calgary | -2.2°C | Regions Advertise Login | Our platform is in maintenance mode. Some URLs may not be available. |
British Columbia

Vancouver-area businesses struggle amid rising olive oil prices

Worldwide olive oil prices have shot up, meaning Vancouver-area restaurants and businesses that deal in olive oil are forced to increase their prices, accept thinner profit margins and work harder to source olive oil.

A climate-driven worldwide olive oil shortage has caused prices to jump 140 per cent in the past three years

Two close up cans on olive oil.
Several local Vancouver-area businesses are having to either increase their prices or accept a smaller profit margin amid rising olive oil prices. (CBC News)

At Hydra Estiatorio, there is no replacement for olive oil. It's a staple ingredient, used in almost every dish.

But the Greek restaurant, located in downtown Vancouver, is one of many local food businesses suffering as olive oil prices skyrocket amida worldwide shortage.

Because substituting is not an option for the restaurant, rising costs mean profit margins are thinning.

"It's the backbone of our cuisine," said Mark Greenfield, director of culinary operations for Executive Table Group, which owns Hydra.

"It's not something we could consider changing or altering in any way."

Climate events like drought, wildfiresand flooding, as well as increasing production costs, have caused global olive oil production to decrease.

In the last three years, average retail prices have increased by 140 per cent, according to Statistics Canada data. Prices have jumped by 25 per cent since January alone.

Greenfield says restaurants are not only facingincreased prices, but scarcity has made olive oilharder to buy.

"I've had suppliers tell me ... it's not available. Even at a higher price they can't even source it or get their hands on it," he said, addingthe restaurant has had to diversify its sources of the oil, now relying on several suppliers.

A photo of a street in Vancouver with a restaurant sign that says
Mark Greenfield, with greek restaurant Hydra Estiatorio in Vancouver, says olive oil has become not only more expensive, but more difficult to source over the past few months. (Mark Greenfield/Hydra Estiatorio)

"It can be a scramble, especially for the smaller boutique importers who are sourcing from a single-origin farm," he said.

Greenfield is also concerned about substitutions in the supply chain, or the possibility that those importing the oil might cut products with cheaper vegetable or seed oils.

He says Hydra chefs taste their olive oil every three months and carefully select which one to use.

But Greenfield says many smaller restaurants may have to choose betweensubstituting olive oil, using a lower quality oilor increasing their prices.

WATCH: B.C. Businesses struggle with high olive oil prices:

Expensive olive oil? Blame climate change

3 months ago
Duration 2:10
The impact of climate change in Europe is being blamed for high olive oil prices. Michelle Morton speaks to some B.C. businesses about how they're adjusting to the increases

'Perfect storm'

Fil Bucchino, an olive oil expert and professional taster, says the past three years have been challenging for olive producers in Europe, but last year in particular was the "perfect storm" of poor weather and other factors like increasing supply-chain costsand a spike in the cost of glass, which is often used for packaging.

"You could see it coming, but nobody expected it to be as bad as it got," said Buccino.

He says, however, growers are optimistic about the upcoming season, noting temperatures have been conducive to olive growing.

"So far, knock on wood, it looks the best that it has looked in the past four years," said Bucchino.

A man stands in a store reaching for a bottle of olive oil.
Rino Cioffi, owner of Cioffi's market and deli in Burnaby, B.C., is purchasing olive oil in smaller batches to keep up with the volatile prices. (CBC News)

Rino Cioffi, who runs anorth-Burnaby Italian market and deli,Cioffi's,is counting on olive oil prices levelling off soon.

Cioffi says the store has had to increase its olive oil prices by around 70 per cent to keep up with rising costs.

As a result, Cioffi says he has had to cut down on inventory.

While he used to buy oil in larger batches to keep some in storage, volatile pricing has forced him to buy smaller amounts.

"We don't want to get stuck at selling olive oil at $200when they might go back down to $100," he said.

A woman stands in a shop in front of jars of olive oil.
Lisa Funaro, owner of Di Oliva olive oil tasting bar in Vancouver, says she had to raise her prices by between $1 and $2 per bottle last December. (CBC News)

Lisa Funaro, owner of olive oil tasting bar Di Olivain East Vancouver, says she prides herself on offering high-quality, pure olive oil to customers at a relatively affordable price, but the jump in costs and scarcity of the oil forced her to raiseprices in December.

"It is getting harder and harder to find pure olive oil," said Funaro.

She says many customers are still willing to pay for the pure olive oil which she says has health benefits and is optimistic that prices will go back down soon.

With files from Michelle Morton