Why You Might Have Trouble Finding Olive Oil at Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's

If you frequently shop at Trader Joe’s and are thinking about restocking your olive oil soon, you may need to spend your money elsewhere. As it turns out, the popular neighborhood grocery chain seems to be in a bit of an olive oil drought, with many shoppers reporting that their local TJ’s locations haven't had any available in weeks.

A post about the shortage was recently shared to Reddit by one concerned customer in NYC who wrote, “It all started about two weeks ago, my dad and I went to TJ’s in Staten Island, NY and there was barely any olive oil.” The customer went on to detail how things had not changed after visiting their local two weeks later and even noted that after visiting a location in Queens, there was not a single bottle of olive oil in sight. “What’s going on with olive oil at TJ’s?” the author of the post questioned, hoping for a much needed explanation of the ordeal.

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As it turns out, both Spain and Italy (two of the largest producers of olive oil worldwide) have been experiencing a drought that has drastically reduced their olive oil harvests. One commenter who offered some clarity to the Reddit post mentioned how the two countries have had two years of bad weather, resulting in a “drought one year and floods the next.” The commenter went on to explain that olive oil is made with last year’s olives, noting that “we’re at the point now where manufacturing is hitting a roadblock because of poor harvests.”

It is worth it to mention that this issue largely impacts the oils that are 100-percent Spanish or Italian, however, olive oil from other regions like Greece could still be experiencing a similar shortage due to a change in climate. Last September, NPR reported on the olive oil shortage in which experts cited weather conditions being “very bad for crops in general.” The article also named the terrible drought as the main reason for provoking an olive oil price increase of more than 100-percent in just 11 months.

So what does this mean for the average Joe who just needs a bottle for at-home use? Well, you might have to hunt around at different retailers for your olive oil needs. And while it seems that Trader Joe’s is already running short, other establishments may see similar shortages soon as well.