Bertolli, one of the world's bestselling olive oils, has been sold by Unilever to Grupo SOS, Spain's second-largest quoted food group, for €630 million (£500 million).

The sale is part of Unilever's plans to sell non-core assets, which together produce about €2 billion in annual turnover. It is likely to be the last big sale in the restructuring, since Unilever has already sold assets with total annual turnover of about €1.65 billion.

Julian Hardwick, an RBS analyst, said: “They got an extremely good price for it. I don't think there's much left to go on their sale of assets. Their next move will probably be to sell off more of the food businesses in Europe, which could be any of a whole range of things.”

This month, Unilever sold its Turkish olive oil business for an undisclosed price to Ana Gida, part of the Anadolu Group.

The sale of Bertolli comes as global olive oil prices, which often fluctuate with the annual harvest and are vulnerable to changes in cooking habits, are relatively stable. The olive oil futures market, based in Jaen, Spain, has been buoyant in recent months.

FAECA, the Spanish agricultural co-op association, estimates that olive oil production for the 2008-09 crop will fall by about 9 per cent in Spain - by far the world's biggest producer of olive oil. This should help to keep olive oil prices high, even though other non-Mediterranean countries, such as India and Australia, are trying to break into olive oil production, which may create a supply glut in the future.

Spain harvested 1.1 million tonnes in the crop year ending November 2007. Grupo SOS owns Carbonell, the world's bestselling olive oil brand.

The transaction includes Unilever's Italian Maya, Dante and San Giorgio olive oil and seed oil businesses and a factory in Inveruno, Italy. Unilever will retain the Bertolli brand in all other categories, including margarine, pasta sauces and frozen meals.

Unilever has already sold its American detergent business, which has about €800 million of annual sales, its Boursin French cheese business and Lawry's, its American marinades and spices business.

Turnover from Bertolli's olive oil, vinegar and Maya, Dante and San Giorgio brands was about €380 million last year.

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