Due to rising prices, olive oil, a staple of Greek cuisine, is becoming a luxury

ATHENS- Due to skyrocketing prices, olive oil, a staple of Greek culture and cuisine, is turning into a luxury commodity, according to the president of one of Greece’s largest unions of olive farmers on Saturday. According to Myron Chiletzakis, vice president of the Heraklion Agricultural Cooperative (EASH), the retail price of olive oil would be between €12 and €15 during the winter in Crete, one of the nation’s largest olive oil producing regions, where the wholesale price is currently around €8.40 ($9) per litre. Speaking to public radio ERT as well, he asserted that the fact that 80% of the nation’s olive oil production is exported is also the cause of the home market’s soaring pricing. According to Chiletzakis, Greece should have prohibited the export of olive oil, just as Turkey did, to avert this disaster. According to him, olive oil has evolved into a luxury commodity with an average retail price of €13 and a price increase of 35% in just August. A three-month export ban on olive oil in barrels and bulk was announced by the Turkish Trade Ministry on August 1 as a result of the Mediterranean region’s olive oil supply crisis and its detrimental effects on domestic prices.