Olive oil: record production in Turkey
September 29, 2026 at 9:14 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
Good crop and record oil production
Following ten years of growth, around 200 million olive trees are currently being cultivated on olive plantations in Turkey. This forms the basis for Turkey becoming the world’s second-largest olive oil producer. The large crop volume for the 2026/2027 season, estimated at 3.8 million mt (+55% year-on-year) is expected to enable a record production of 400,000 mt of olive oil. However, the adjusted US tariffs are dampening sentiment, as olive oil shipments from Turkey are at a disadvantage compared with those from countries such as Spain, Italy and Tunisia.
According to Mustafa Kürlek, Chairman of the Ayvalık Chamber of Commerce Young Entrepreneurs Board and Chairman of the Board of Köklü Olive Oil, around 28% of Turkey’s olive oil exports go to the USA. However, in addition to the tariff adjustments, the Turkish industry is already facing rising costs in numerous areas, which are making production even more expensive. In many regions of Turkey, the harvesting process still relies on manual labour, which drives up production costs further compared to countries such as Spain, where more mechanised methods are used. Kürlek emphasises that Turkey needs to raise its profile as a country of origin in order to strengthen its market position. However, Kürlek also sees great potential in the domestic consumer market.
Nevertheless, given the record production, Kürlek does not expect prices for Turkish olive oil to rise this year. On the contrary, prices are actually expected to be around 30% cheaper than last year.
EU exports have fallen significantly
Olive oil shipments continued to decline right up until shortly before the end of the 2025/2026 EU export season. Between 1 October 2025 and 20 September 2026, EU countries exported a total of 591,739 mt of olive oil (EU categories 1 to 5, treated and untreated), representing a 9% decline compared with the same period of the previous year. The value of exports, however, fell by just over 20% to EUR 3.345 billion due to lower prices. The average export price for the period mentioned above was EUR 5.65/kg, compared with EUR 6.42/kg last year.
At 319,524 mt, around 54% of EU exports originated from Spain (-4% year-on-year), followed by Italy (-4% to 200,600 mt), Portugal (-24% to 49,696 mt) and Belgium (+35% to 5,571 mt). Just under a third of EU shipments, totalling 180,079 mt, went to the USA (-16% year-on-year); other major destination countries were the UK (+4% to 54,846 mt), Brazil (-20% to 52,197 mt) and Japan (-1% to 30,716 mt).
|
EU olive oil exports, in mt |
|||
|
Partner |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
Diff. |
|
Spain |
333,656 |
319,524 |
-4.2% |
|
Italy |
208,244 |
200,600 |
-3.7% |
|
Portugal |
65,477 |
49,696 |
-24.1% |
|
Belgium |
4,124 |
5,571 |
35.1% |
|
Greece |
25,167 |
4,575 |
-81.8% |
|
Germany |
2,601 |
3,035 |
16.7% |
|
France |
3,871 |
2,763 |
-28.6% |
|
Slovenia |
799 |
1,433 |
79.3% |
|
Netherlands |
1,225 |
1,235 |
0.8% |
|
Others |
2,399 |
3,307 |
37.8% |
|
Total |
647,563 |
591,739 |
-8.6% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/10-20.09. 15092000+15093000+15094000+15099000 Olivenöl |
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EU imports rise significantly
Meanwhile, EU imports during the period mentioned above totalled 106,983 mt of olive oil (+66 % year-on-year) worth EUR 406.066 million (+43 % year-on-year). At 52,052 mt, 47% of the shipments came from Tunisia, with a further 31% coming from Morocco, whilst Turkey exported just 518 mt of olive oil, worth EUR 3.74 million, to the EU – down by around 67% and 63% respectively compared with the same period last year. More than half of the imports, totalling 55,565 mt, went to Spain, whilst Italy imported 37,214 mt from third countries.
|
EU olive oil imports, in mt |
|||
|
Partner |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
Diff. |
|
Tunisia |
46,361 |
52,052 |
12.3% |
|
Morocco |
2,207 |
32,753 |
1,384.1% |
|
Egypt |
5,247 |
9,279 |
76.8% |
|
Argentina |
154 |
4,149 |
2,594.2% |
|
Peru |
521 |
3,131 |
501.0% |
|
Chile |
2,121 |
1,907 |
-10.1% |
|
UK |
572 |
727 |
27.1% |
|
Turkey |
1,575 |
518 |
-67.1% |
|
Others |
5,617 |
2,467 |
-56.1% |
|
Total |
64,375 |
106,983 |
66.2% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/10-20/09 15092000+15093000+15094000+15099000 Olive oil |
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