Olive oil prices surge due to drought and disease in Spain and Italy

Producers say this year's harvests are worst they have seen, as consumer demand begins to outstrip supply

Salads have rarely been so expensively dressed after a combination of drought and disease pushed the price of olive oil up 10% so far this year, amid warnings from suppliers that harvests are the worst they have seen.

The Italian government has declared a "state of calamity" in the provinces of Lecce and Brindisi on the heel of the country, where olive groves are being attacked by a bacterial disease nicknamed "olive ebola" . Up to 1m centuries-old olive trees could be felled in one of the most picturesque tourist spots of Italy in an attempt to contain the problem.