OLIVE growers are worried as prices plummet to a record low.

The average price for olives is now €1.85 per kilo, while growers are claiming that to break even they need to get €2.20.

A spokesman for the small farmers and livestock breeders union, UPA, said the big retailers were to blame for the low prices not a reduction in demand.

He said that supermarkets dictate the price as nine out of ten bottles of olive oil are sold to them.

Olives are a fundamental part of the Andalucian economy, with the provinces of Jaen and Cordoba being particularly reliant on the crop.

Fortunately growers can obtain subsidies from the EU so they can store their oil until the market recovers. (Via Olive Press)