Latest figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) indicate that the price of olive oil in the Balearics has risen to around ten euros a litre. The expectation is that the price will continue to rise. Although there is obviously production in Mallorca of what's dubbed 'liquid gold', most of it comes from the mainland. Drought conditions will lead to another bad harvest. Given the increase in price, some supermarkets have started putting anti-theft collars on bottles.
According to the INE, the price of oils in the Balearics has risen by an average of 20.7% over the past year, but in the specific case of olive oil the increase has been higher.
Well ahead of oils is sugar - a year-on-year increase of 38.1% in August. The third highest increase last month was potatoes and potato products; these were up 15.5%. In general terms, food and non-alcoholic beverages in the Balearics have gone up 10.7%, slightly above a national average of 10.5%. Of all food items analysed by the INE, none have become cheaper.
The president of the Consubal consumers association, Alfonso Rodríguez, accepts that an increase in transport costs, especially fuel, has pushed prices up. But he notes that there is huge dependence on products imported into the Balearics, and he also complains that there are companies which are taking advantage of the situation- "not only to pass on the increase in costs but to also increase their profit margins".
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