Italians forced to cut back on Mediterranean cooking staple as prices skyrocket

Greece and Spain have both seen olive oil sales plummet

Italians are being forced to cut back on a Mediterranean cooking staple as costs reach a record-high’

A third of Italians have reduced their consumption of extra virgin olive oil due to skyrocketing prices, according to a survey.

But Italian producers are pushing back against the claim, saying the snapshot of consumer sentiment does not give a full picture - and that sales of higher-quality, Italian, extra virgin olive oil are actually up.

Consumers reported cutting back consumption of extra virgin olive oil by at least 30% to as much as half as average supermarket prices have risen from 4.0 euros (£3.41) to 9.0 euros (£7.66) a bottle, according to a survey by the Piepoli independent research institute.