Susanna Riva Until October 22nd, Gros Group stores offered a liter of 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil for €3,99. The offer, billed as a special promotion, immediately sparked curiosity because, at first glance, it wasn't a true "below-cost" price, but rather a price seemingly incompatible with domestic production costs.
The issue was examined by the ICQRF (Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and the Suppression of Fraud in Agri-food Products). To further investigate the matter, Alberto Grimelli, director of Teatro Naturale and considered one of the leading experts in the olive oil sector, was consulted.
The surprising offer in Gros supermarkets
The Gros flyer clearly showed the label “100% Italian extra virgin olive oil” at €3,99.
To put the scale of the deal into perspective, Grimelli compared the price to that of other everyday food products: two liters of branded fresh milk cost almost as much as the bottle of olive oil on sale. However, the comparison is only superficial, as milk and oil production are incomparable . A cow can produce between 25 and 30 liters of milk per day, while an olive tree produces only 15-20 kilograms of olives per year, which yield 2-3 liters of oil after pruning, pesticide treatments, and rapid processing at the mill.
Production data comparison
In volume terms, the milk from a single cow in one day is equivalent to the oil produced in an entire year by a dozen olive trees. Selling that oil at the price of two liters of milk, therefore, has no economic basis if we consider the actual costs of cultivation, harvesting, and processing. Grimelli estimated that, to reach €3,99, the oil must have been purchased for no more than €2,6 per liter on the international market, a price unmatched in either Italy or Spain.
The mechanism of TPA and its Tunisian origin
According to Grimelli's calculations, the only source capable of guaranteeing such a low price is oil from Tunisia, imported into Italy through the TPA (Inward Processing Trade) customs regime. The TPA allows a company to import oil from a non-EU country without paying the standard duty—about €1,1 per liter for extra virgin olive oil—provided that the product, once bottled in Italy, is re-exported outside the EU, for example, to the United States.
This system makes Tunisian oil the cheapest in its category, benefiting from low origin costs and duty-free status. However, regulations require that these bottles cannot be placed on shelves intended for the EU internal market or labeled as "100% Italian oil." There are quotas of Tunisian oil entering the EU duty-free, but they must be marketed as non-EU oil , not as a domestic product.
Expert reactions and requests for investigation
Grimelli has not made any allegations of fraud, but has forwarded the report to the ICQRF and the main industry associations, requesting verification of the product's true origin. It's important to note that the average wholesale price of Italian extra virgin olive oil hovers around €4,2-4,4 per liter, a figure many olive growers consider to be the limit of production costs. An offer like Gros's, therefore, should raise legitimate concerns and prompt purchasing agents to request more detailed documentation, rather than focusing solely on the lowest price.
The case highlights how the risk of potential irregularities often falls to public regulators, while distribution chains can claim to have purchased "in good faith." The case remains open, and it will depend on the ICQRF's investigation to determine whether there have been violations of European TPA regulations or whether this is simply a legitimate commercial strategy that is unclear to consumers.