Olive oil: Turkey expects record crop
June 24, 2026 at 9:45 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
Exports for 2026/27 are expected to exceed USD 1 billion
Mehmet Emre Uygun, President of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association, explained that olives and olive oil are among the Turkish economy’s key sources of foreign exchange. Thanks to proven agricultural practices and the hard work of growers in expanding olive groves, Turkey has risen to become the world’s leading producer of table olives and the second-largest producer of olive oil.
Between 1 November 2025 and 31 May 2026, exports of olives and olive oil from Turkey totalled USD 260 million. Due to the decline in world market prices and administrative regulations governing the domestic market, export revenues fell by around 34% compared with the same period the previous year. During this period, table olive exports maintained their strong performance at USD 172.5 million, whilst olive oil exports fell by 62% in value to USD 69 million.
The Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters Association has announced that the Turkish olive crop is expected to set a new record in the 2026/27 season. Industry representatives have stated that olive and olive oil exports could once again exceed the USD 1 billion mark, provided that this high production potential is supported by appropriate policy measures. Industry representatives emphasise that the uninterrupted maintenance of export channels is crucial to transforming the expected surplus of produce into economic success. Among other things, it is reported that efforts to lift the 100 mt export quota imposed on Turkey by the European Union are continuing.
EU exports down by 10%
So far, the 2025/26 EU export season has been characterised by a noticeable decline in olive oil shipments. Between 1 October 2025 and 21 June 2026, the EU exported a total of 425,801 mt of olive oil (EU categories 1 to 5, treated and untreated), representing a 10% decline compared with the same period last year. The value of exports, however, fell by just over 22% to EUR 2.407 billion due to lower prices. The average export price for the period mentioned above was EUR 5.65/kg, compared with EUR 6.79/kg in the previous year.
At 234,417 mt, around 55% of EU exports originated from Spain (+2% year-on-year), followed by Italy (-9% to 145,783 mt), Portugal (-38% to 28,260 mt) and Greece (-76% to 4,571 mt). Just under a third of EU shipments, totalling 135,679 mt, went to the USA (-20% year-on-year); other major destination countries were the UK (+6% to 41,641 mt), Brazil (-31% to 29,727 mt) and South Korea (+15% to 22,286 mt).
Meanwhile, EU imports of olive oil during the aforementioned period totalled 84,145 mt (+63% year-on-year), worth EUR 321.256 million (+39% year-on-year). At 45,621 mt, 56% of the shipments came from Tunisia, with a further 27% coming from Morocco, whilst Turkey exported just 418 mt of olive oil to the EU – around 69% less than in the same period last year.
|
EU olive oil exports, in mt |
|||
|
Partner |
2024/25 |
2025/26 |
Diff. |
|
Spain |
238,066 |
234,417 |
-1.5% |
|
Italy |
159,535 |
145,783 |
-8.6% |
|
Portugal |
45,328 |
28,260 |
-37.7% |
|
Greece |
18,920 |
4,571 |
-75.8% |
|
Belgium |
3,040 |
3,910 |
28.6% |
|
Others |
7,840 |
8,860 |
13.0% |
|
Total |
472,729 |
425,801 |
-9.9% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/10-21/06 15092000+15093000+15094000+15099000 Olive oil |
|||
View related articles
