Italians cut back on olive oil as prices surge, survey says. Producers are pushing back on that

By COLLEEN BARRY
AP Enterprise Author

MILAN (AP) — A brand new survey says one-third of Italians have lowered their consumption of additional virgin olive oil as a result of skyrocketing costs. However Italian producers are pushing again towards the info launched Friday, saying the snapshot of client sentiment doesn’t give a full image. They are saying gross sales of higher-quality Italian additional virgin olive oil are literally up. The reported drop in Italian consumption of the staple is far lower than in different olive oil-producing Mediterranean Sea nations. Trade estimates point out Greece and Spain have each seen olive oil gross sales plummet by one-third during the last yr. Two years of drought has drastically lower manufacturing in Spain, the world’s largest olive oil producer, and pushed up world costs.