Edible Oils in Western Europe

Delivery

This report comes in PPT.

Key findings

Strong growth seen as the pandemic hits the region

The region as a whole, as well as most of its countries, saw stronger retail value sales growth in 2020, as consumers were cooking and eating more at home due to lockdowns and foodservice closures. Although growth slowed in 2021, Western European countries were still being impacted by measures designed by control the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the region, helping to keep demand above pre-pandemic levels across Western Europe.

Price rises drive growth in Turkey

The overall edible oils industry was heavily influenced in 2021 by the strong growth recorded in Turkey, the region’s biggest market. Rising prices for sunflower oil, which dominates sales in the Turkish market, due to recent devaluation of the local currency against the US dollar, as well as a poor sunflower harvest in 2020, resulted in very strong growth in this category in 2021.

Palm oil losing favour

Palm oil continued to see declining sales in Western Europe in 2021. This type of edible oil is widely deemed to be unhealthy due to its high level of saturated fat, with packaged food manufacturers often now advertising the absence of palm oil as a key selling point. Palm oil’s sourcing process is also increasingly perceived as having a negative environmental impact.

Positive CAGR expected for edible oils

Sales of edible oils are expected to record positive volume growth throughout the forecast period, but will see a one-off slight dip into negative territory in real value terms in 2022, with some consumers, hit by the pandemic’s economic impact, forced to look for options offering the best value for money, such as the ever popular private label lines, in the short-term period. However, even private label is increasingly also exploring the higher-quality and organic areas of the market in edible oils in Western Europe.