Any Trader Joe’s shoppers running low on olive oil may need to turn to another retailer for their next restock.
A fan of the grocery chain took to Reddit this week to share an odd conundrum: the retailer’s olive oil has been absent from their local stores for several weeks.
“What’s going on with all olive oil at TJ (Trader Joe’s)? It started about two weeks ago, my dad and I went to TJ in Staten Island, N.Y. and there was barely any olive oil. Two weeks later it was the same thing. Today I went to a different TJ in Queens, and there was not one bottle of olive oil,” the Redditor wrote. “Do you guys see that in your local TJ too, or is it just NYC?”
As it turns out, plenty of other shoppers have also noticed a lack of olive oil at the Trader Joe’s locations near them lately.
“No olive oil in my local TJ’s (LA) earlier this week either, sigh,” one shopper commented on the post.
“Mine was out yesterday too,” another said.
Several self-identified Trader Joe’s employees claimed that there have been ongoing supply issues for the pantry staple, which would explain why availability is limited right now.
“Employee here, there’s been supplier/warehouse issues the better part of this year,” one commented.
“Grocery section leader here! We’re unfortunately affected by an olive oil shortage. None of it is orderable [at the moment], and won’t be until the 28th at the earliest, but I expect it to get pushed back. Sorry!” another wrote.
Some Redditors wondered if Trader Joe’s olive oil shortages have something to do with the high temperatures and drought that affected Europe’s olive-growing regions over the summer, taking a toll on production. Per CNN, experts believe that potential shortages and higher prices could be the consequence of the weather issues. Last year’s olive oil harvest was also bad due to a heat wave that wreaked havoc on Europe’s olive crop.
It’s important to note that not all Trader Joe’s stores seem to be suffering from the reported olive oil shortages. Several shoppers noted in the comments that locations near them still have bottles in stock right now. But the sheer number of customers who haven’t seen the product in recent weeks indicates that it’s more than a one-off issue.
Trader Joe’s did not immediately respond to our queries for comment on the reported olive oil shortages.
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Zoe Strozewski
