Shoppers in Spain are typically still paying more than €4 for a litre of olive oil, even though the price at the source has sunk to its lowest in five years. Farmers say many are now selling at a loss and want the government to step in.

The price at source is sliding towards €3 a kilo

Extra virgin olive oil is changing hands at around €3.10 a kilo at source, the lowest in five years and well down on the €4.50 it started the harvest year on last October. Prices across all categories, including lampante (the lowest grade, which needs refining before it can be sold), have dropped 8.7 per cent in a month.

However, that’s the bulk price mills and packers pay, so it doesn’t mean €3 bottles on the shelf for regular shoppers. A litre of oil weighs a little less than a kilo, which makes €3.10 a kilo roughly €2.85 a litre.

Supermarket bottles have barely moved

Price checks published this week put Mercadona’s own-brand extra virgin at €4.35 a litre, with Carrefour’s at €4.34. That leaves a gap of around €1.50 a litre for bottling, transport, tax and shop margins.

Some chains have started passing savings on, though only in cents. Carrefour and Dia had trimmed their own-label litres by 24 and 15 cents respectively by early September.

So when does your bottle get cheaper? The honest answer is gradually, as packers use up their existing stock and decide how much of the fall to pass on.

Farmers say they’re selling below cost

Farmers aren’t celebrating. Cooperatives and the farming unions ASAJA, COAG and UPA said on Thursday October 8 that extra virgin, then averaging about €3.30 a kilo, was already below what most olive farms spend to produce it. 

Production costs have risen 57 per cent since 2021, according to the association of olive-growing towns (AEMO), while the harvest is forecast at 1.6 million tonnes, around 23 per cent more than last year. Rain-fed groves, which cost more to run and yield less, are the most exposed.

The fix would keep some oil off the market 

What they’re asking for is a marketing norm (a rule from the Ministry of Agriculture) that would force olive mills to store a set share of their oil instead of selling it, easing the pressure on prices. The cooperatives’ sector head, Rafael Sánchez de Puerta, told a technical conference in Ciudad Real he doesn’t understand the delay.

Agriculture Minister Luis Planas has called the measure extraordinary, as it has never been used, and wants to see the final harvest figures first. A decision is expected in the first half of November.

The catch for shoppers is that anything designed to stop prices falling further could also limit how much cheaper your oil gets. Nothing has been confirmed though, and it’s not yet clear how big the stored share would be.

Until the decision lands, the surest saving is to check the price per litre on the label, because Mercadona’s 3-litre garrafa works out about 30 cents a litre cheaper than its single bottle.

Mercadona customers in Spain might have noticed a change in the packaging of their favourite products. The supermarket chain is trying to make its food labels more readable by increasing the font size and including more information to help customers better understand what they are purchasing.

The changes will affect everything from the ingredient list to cooking instructions on the labels of foods and beverages. If you’ve had a hard time reading tiny labels or comparing the nutritional information on different products, this new label may make shopping easier for you.

Mercadona has been gradually implementing these changes rather than replacing all labels at once. The changes were driven by customer feedback that they wanted more convenient product information.

In an explanation published by the supermarket chain, Mercadona said it had already implemented packaging improvements on approximately 4,000 products, with the ambition of exceeding 6,000 during 2026.

What is changing on Mercadona’s food labels?

One of the most obvious changes is the font size. Mercadona has increased the font on its new packaging to make key information easier to read without having to pore over each line of fine print.

The company has also reorganised information into clearly defined sections, making ingredients, nutritional details and preparation instructions easier to locate. This will help customers find ingredients, nutritional information, and instructions more quickly.

Another key improvement is the nutritional tables. Instead of having various formats for different products, Mercadona is working on making the nutritional information more uniform.

This should make it easier for shoppers to find information like calories, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein, and salt.

The changes are particularly helpful for those who regularly compare similar products, follow specific diets or want to keep track of their food intake.

The company is also making cooking instructions more visual. Some of the newly designed packaging now features icons and images showing how to cook the products, including oven, microwave, and air fryer directions.

The purpose of this is to provide the customer with clarity about how to prepare food without having to read the long instructions printed on the packaging.

According to Spanish newspaper 20minutos, the changes are being rolled out slowly, so customers may see both old and new labels in their stores.

Mercadona adds nutritional information per portion

One of the most useful changes involves the way nutritional values are displayed. Under EU food labelling rules, nutritional information on most prepacked foods must be expressed per 100 grams or 100 millilitres, allowing shoppers to compare products more easily. This format makes it easier for consumers to compare similar products, even if they are sold in different sizes.

The information will be kept on the label. The company has added per portion nutritional information where it is considered to be useful.

For example, the calorie content per 100 grams might be presented on the package along with the number of calories in the suggested serving.

It provides two methods of evaluating the product. Per 100 grams may be useful for comparison, while per portion may provide a more practical idea of how much the average consumer will consume in a single serving.

However, there is a difference. The manufacturer’s recommended portion size does not necessarily match what a person actually consumes.

Therefore, a consumer comparing two products should continue to use the per 100 grams or 100 millilitres figures instead of solely relying on the serving sizes.

The new changes do not mean that Mercadona has started a new nutritional labeling system, or that the nutritional profile of its products has changed. Instead, the new labels are an improvement on the presentation and, in some cases, the addition of information.

What Mercadona shoppers in Spain should know

Mercadona’s packaging changes are part of a longer program, not an immediate overhaul that will be introduced in every supermarket in October 2026.

The company has been working on improving product labels for several years. The company’s latest communication highlights how these improvements are being extended across thousands of its own-brand products.

For customers, there is no need to do anything. Newly redesigned labels will be available as the packaging is changed. The availability of each design may vary.

The changes will be of particular importance to foreigners who are shopping at Mercadona but may not be entirely comfortable with the food labeling in Spanish.

Larger font size, more clearly divided sections and visual preparation instructions can make it easier for users to find the information they need.

However, those who have food allergies or intolerances should always check the ingredient list and allergen information for each product. The visual appearance of the packaging may not tell the whole story.

Mercadona has also warned its customers shopping at its online supermarket to be sure to check the physical packaging of their orders. Sometimes, product images on its website may not be up to date.

The supermarket explains this in its official guidance on ingredients and allergens.

For Mercadona customers, there may be some minor differences but they may affect your shopping experience. The next time you pick up that familiar product, you may notice a new label, but it will contain the same product.

If you are planning a supermarket run during Spain’s October 12 national holiday, checking the opening hours before leaving home could save you a wasted journey.

The national day of Spain, known as the Dia de la Hispanidad, falls on a Monday this year, allowing many people to enjoy a long weekend. However, there is a catch for anyone who is putting off their weekly shop: There will be different opening hours in many supermarkets across the country, and some of the country’s biggest chains are expected to close most of their stores.

There is no one rule for all supermarkets. While some retailers may close most of their stores for the holiday, others will open certain locations or operate on shortened hours, depending on the city, region, and store.

So, if you find yourself at home on Monday morning and realizing there’s no milk in the fridge, here’s what you need to know before heading out.

Mercadona, Lidl and Aldi: which supermarkets open on October 12?

Mercadona shoppers should plan ahead. The chain is expected to operate its normal 9am to 9.30pm schedule on Saturday, October 10, before closing virtually all of its supermarkets on both Sunday, October 11 and Monday, October 12.

Saturday is the safest day for those who normally use Mercadona and need to stock up before the holiday weekend.

The situation is less straightforward at Lidl.

Opening hours for Lidl are not fixed nationwide. Instead, the store’s hours may vary depending on its location and the store itself. To check the store hours of your local Lids store, please search for your nearest Lidz store using their official store finder which provides the store opening hours and special holiday schedules.

The same principle applies to Aldi, where October 12 opening depends on location.

Some Madrid stores, for example, are expected to remain open on the public holiday. The branch at Calle Conde de Penalver, 45 and the store on Carretera del Barrio de la Fortuna, 1 are scheduled to open from 10am until 10pm.

Meanwhile, Aldi supermarkets at Avenida de Santa Eugenia, 4 and Avenida de Juan Antonio Samaranch, 55 are expected to operate from 10am until 9pm.

These are not Aldi’s general store hours, however. Customers from other areas of Spain should check their store’s hours before travelling.

Carrefour, DIA and Alcampo opening hours vary by location

For customers who shop at Carrefour, DIA or Alcampo, the answer is mainly in where you live.

Dia will be keeping some of its supermarkets open on October 12, as it operates in areas of high residential and tourist activity. However, there will be no uniform timetable for openings, and so some stores may be open while others may not be or may be restricted.

DIA’s customers can use the store finder to search for their town or address to get the latest news about their nearest store.

Alcampo is also a store-based approach. Alcampo’s store finder on its website lets customers enter their postcode and find information about a particular supermarket or hypermarket.

Carrefour also informs customers that the holiday hours are not the same in all its stores. It provides an online tool to check the holiday opening hours for a store near you. It is especially important to check this before visiting the store on Monday.

For all three chains, checking before setting off is especially worthwhile on a national holiday, when Google-listed opening times or someone’s experience from a previous year may not necessarily reflect the schedule for October 12.

Shopping in Spain on October 12? Check before you leave home

The easiest plan of action is this: If you need a major grocery shop, do it before Monday.

Mercadona customers should stock up by Saturday. Lidl, Aldi, DIA, Carrefour and Alcampo shoppers may have more choices depending on their location.

People who are staying in the tourist places will also find more supermarkets open than the ones in other parts of the country. But there is no guarantee that they will be open since the shops are usually open for seven days a week.

And even if a supermarket is open on October 12, it may be open for less time than usual.

Before you leave for your destination, check the store locator of the chain for the specific store you plan to visit. It’s especially helpful early in the morning or late at night when holiday hours make it more likely that the doors are closed.

For anyone planning a long weekend away, hosting friends or avoiding an empty fridge, a few minutes of searching and maybe even an early trip to the store could make October 12 much easier.