There are several reasons for the price variations of the various essential oils, mainly due to the way they are obtained. Indeed, essential oils being highly concentrated distilled or pressed extracts, the quantities of aromatic plants equivalent to 1 kg of essential oils sometimes vary widely. For example, to obtain 1kg of clove essential oil, only 7kg of floral bud is required. To obtain 1kg of fine lavender essential oil, 150kg of flowering plants are required. For 1kg of Damask Rose essential oil, 4 tons of flowers. The assurance that an oil is 100% organic is also part of the cost of reselling an essential oil, as it requires more control. The price may also be due to the rarity of the product, its location in a remote area and its low availability. Some vegetable raw materials also take much longer to be distilled, an expensive but essential process to obtain a 100% complete oil. The origin of aromatic plants is also an important factor, whether for transport or simply for the quality of the chosen soil, on which the final quality of an Oil depends. Finally, but to a lesser extent, it is the time of harvest of the plants, sometimes limited to a short period of the year, that will be taken into account in the selling price of an essential oil.
In short:
Essential oils are highly concentrated, and therefore require a lot of fresh aromatic plants to extract small amounts of essence. The yield of essential oil varies greatly from one species to another, which is one of the reasons why prices vary and why some essential oils are so expensive. Finally, the quality of the E.O., climatic hazards, rarity and certain commercial practices have an impact on prices.