As the price of edible oils continues to rise, how can food businesses protect their supply?

COVENTRY, U.K. - July 31, 2025 - PRLog -- The Vegetable Oil Price Index is tracking 18.2% higher than in 2024, with palm oil, rapeseed oil, and soybean prices in particular driving the increase. Some of the uptick in food oil commodities is due to biofuel demand, but it is a situation exacerbated by drought in Europe, supply chain disruptions and rising production costs.

Edible oils are a key commodity for the food industry, used as an ingredient as well as for cooking and flavouring, so any price increase has a ripple effect. The one oil that is bucking the trend is olive oil, with the 2025 Consumer Price Index (HICP) showing a 26% drop since last year. A welcome relief that is a market reset, partly in response to last year's inflated olive prices.

Navigating the volatile oil market remains a challenge for food businesses, and storing this valuable commodity safely protects that investment. Food oils degrade when exposed to light, heat and moisture, and flavours are particularly sensitive to their environment. Storing precious oils correctly preserves their quality and value.

Each type of oil has specific packaging requirements, so it is important to choose an oil container to match them. Most food oils are unsaturated lipids, which means that they are liquid at room temperature, so oil packaging must be leak-proof. Oil packaging comes in a variety of styles, including containers made from HDPE plastic, steel, tinplate and aluminium, and each has specific benefits.

Metal and rigid plastic containers offer the highest level of packaging protection for oil, helping to preserve valuable oils for longer. Hard plastic oil containers offer a practical and cost-effective way to store or transport oil in bulk. Popular options include stackable jerry cans, plastic barrels and IBCs, all of which are liquid-tight, air-tight, durable, shatter-proof and puncture-resistant. Invopak's (https://invopak.co.uk/) rectangular oil tins are a traditional choice for olive oil, and because metal recycles forever, they are a sustainable choice too.

Whatever happens to food oil prices in the second half of 2025, the importance of protecting this essential commodity will remain the same, with quality packaging and a cool, dry storage environment being key.