Spanish extra virgin olive oil is once again trading at a premium over sunflower that would have looked ordinary in 2021. In OliveTerm's latest common observation, dated 4 October, EVOO stood at 3.42€/kg and crude sunflower at 1.43€/kg. The ratio was 2.39 and the difference 1.99€/kg, a substantial reduction in the additional cost of choosing olive oil compared with the peak of 2024.

Back near the earlier range

The historical comparison depends on which years we include. Across the 281 observations used in this analysis, from April 2021 to October 2026, the median ratio was 3.09. Today's reading is about 23% below that level, and only around a quarter of observations recorded a lower ratio. Before the sharp price movements of 2022–24, however, the relationship was much closer to the current one. Between April 2021 and February 2022, the median ratio was 2.35, with a median difference of 1.87€/kg. Against that period, today's 1.99€/kg premium looks fairly familiar. The exceptionally high olive oil prices of 2023 and 2024 have raised the median for the full series, making the latest reading appear unusually low.

The two markets have also come much closer than they are today. In April 2022, sunflower reached 2.95€/kg while EVOO stood at 3.52€/kg, leaving just 0.57€/kg between them.

By February 2024, the ratio had reached 8.55, with sunflower at 1.03€/kg. A low ratio can come from an expensive alternative, just as a high one can come from expensive olive oil. The prices on both sides of the comparison explain what has changed.