Brussels – Anomalies in the extra virgin olive oil market and suspicions of price disturbances linked to North African imports, the European Parliament’s delegation of Fratelli d’Italia asks for enlightenment, and the European Commission promises to monitor. Still, for the moment, no action is taken because the state of affairs does not justify starting investigations.
However, Stefano Cavedagna, Carlo Fidanza, Nicola Procaccini, Sergio Berlato, and Francesco Ventola, on behalf of the Conservatives (ECR), raise the issue of fluctuations in prices for one of the typical products of the Mediterranean diet. “In recent weeks,” they denounced in a parliamentary question, “there has been a sharp drop in the price of extra virgin olive oil in the marketplaces of Brindisi, Taranto, and Lecce, which has fallen to around €9 per kilo, despite limited stocks and high production costs. At the same time, there are “substantial flows” of virgin oil from North Africa, especially Tunisia, and Turkey, at “significantly lower” prices, which would also affect Italy and Spain, the main reference markets. This is what the five Melonian representatives are denouncing, while the Commission chooses to wait.
“The situation referred to by the Honourable Members seems to be due to single decisions of market operators,” explains Teresa Ribera, Executive Vice-President for Clean, Just, and Competitive Transition, who admits that on the issue of extra virgin oil “the Commission is not aware of elements from which the existence of coordination for the purpose of concluding price-fixing agreements is inferred.” This is why “the situation does not justify a competition investigation” under the rules of the EU. Still, the Commission, assured Ribera, “remains open to receiving any other relevant information on the matter.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
