Competition questions the Spanish government's measures to stabilize the price of olive oil

BarcelonaThe National Commission on Markets and Competition (CNMC) questions the measures promoted by the Spanish government to stabilize the price of olive oil during the 2026-2027 season. The new regulation, proposed this summer, stipulates the withdrawal of a portion of olive oil production in the event of an excess of supply. Specifically, the mechanism designed by the central executive will be activated when the initial stocks plus oil production exceed at least 120% of the average production of the two highest marketing years of the last six seasons. In the event of exceeding this limit, the sector would have to withdraw, at most, 20% of the estimated production.

In the eyes of the Spanish government, the regulation seeks to anticipate a scenario of oversupply that could destabilize the market. The CNMC, however, disagrees with this view. In a report published this Monday, the body chaired by Juan José Ganuza points out that the measures could lead to "very negative" effects on competition and consumers.

"The mandatory withdrawal of a product represents a very relevant and direct restriction of supply and, therefore, is a measure that is particularly harmful to the competitive functioning of the market," maintains the CNMC. In the document, Competition considers that the activation of the clause "would limit the amount of product available in the market, would affect prices, quality and the variety of supply" and "would alter the competitive functioning of the value chain."

According to the agency, the strategy proposed by the Spanish government prevents consumers from fully benefiting from the seasons of high production, as is expected in this one. Likewise, it questions the attempt to cushion price increases in future seasons based on reductions in abundant harvests and places special focus on storage costs. According to its calculations, a possible withdrawal of surplus will generate an additional cost of between 9.25 and 11.68 million euros for the products; an extra cost that may end up being passed on to the final price for the consumer.

On the other hand, the CNMC believes that the Spanish regulation does not make it clear enough which producers the measures affect and recommends specifying the methodology so that the percentage of withdrawal, in the event that the established criteria are met, responds "to the minimum necessary restriction."