The olive oil market and origins: what an importer needs to know first

Module 1 of the Olive Oil Import Academy, free. By the end you can place the main producing countries, explain why prices move from one year to the next, tell the main origins apart, say what Tunisia actually exports, and read an origin price without comparing the wrong things.

Before you ask for a quote, you need a map. Olive oil is produced in a small number of countries, most of it around the Mediterranean, and the harvest swings widely from one year to the next. A buyer who knows who has oil this season, and why, negotiates from a better position than one who only compares two price lists.

Lesson 1. Who produces olive oil

Production is counted by crop year, from October to September, not by calendar year. The reference figures come from the International Olive Council (IOC), which publishes a world balance and revises it as the season closes.

World production, IOC figures:

Crop year	World production	Status
2023/24	2,589,000 tonnes	published by the IOC
2024/25	3,572,000 tonnes	provisional
2025/26	about 3,440,000 tonnes	estimate

Production by country for 2024/25, provisional IOC figures:

Country	2024/25 production	Change on the year before
Spain	1,419,000 tonnes	+66%
Türkiye	505,000 tonnes	+135%
Tunisia	340,000 tonnes	+55%
Greece	250,000 tonnes	+30%
Italy	248,000 tonnes	−25%
Portugal	177,000 tonnes	+10%

Two things to take from these tables:

Spain alone made about 40% of the world's olive oil in 2024/25. What happens in Andalusia sets the tone for everyone's prices.
The swings are large. World output rose by more than a third between 2023/24 and 2024/25. A country can gain or lose half its crop in one year.

The IOC also puts world consumption at about 3,215,000 tonnes for 2024/25 (provisional). When production runs well above or below consumption, stocks and prices follow.

More detail by country is on our world production page.

Lesson 2. What moves prices

Four forces explain most price movements. None of them is under a buyer's control, but all of them can be watched.

The size of the harvest. Olive trees tend to alternate a heavy year and a light year, and drought or heat during flowering can cut a crop sharply. This is the main driver.
Carry-over stocks. After a short harvest, stocks are low and prices stay high until the next crop is known. After a large one, the opposite.
The calendar. In the northern hemisphere the harvest runs mainly from October to February. Prices often move in the autumn, when the first estimates of the new crop come out. See how this season is shaping up on our 2026/27 campaign page.
Currency. The oil is priced in one currency and you may sell in another. The exchange rate then sits on top of the oil price.

Trade practice: many buyers split their purchases across the season instead of buying everything at once. It does not get the lowest price, but it avoids buying a whole year's volume at the peak.

Lesson 3. How the main origins differ

Origins differ in volume, in the varieties they grow, and in how they sell.

Origin	Main varieties	What buyers usually find
Spain	Picual, Hojiblanca	The largest volumes, all grades
Italy	Coratina, Frantoio	Strong brands and blends; Italy also bottles oil bought from other origins
Greece	Koroneiki	Smaller volumes than Spain, built around one main variety
Tunisia	Chemlali, Chetoui	Large bulk volumes, a wide organic offer, private label
Türkiye	Ayvalık, Memecik	Very variable volumes from one year to the next

A point that surprises new buyers: the country on the front of a bottle is not always where the olives grew. Oil is traded in bulk between producing countries and bottled elsewhere. In the EU, the label of an extra virgin or virgin olive oil must state its origin, and a blend must say that it is a blend. Module 9 covers the exact wording.

Our origin comparison guide goes further on each country.

Lesson 4. What Tunisia exports

Tunisia exports most of what it produces. The figures below come from ONAGRI, the Tunisian National Observatory of Agriculture, for the first eleven months of the 2025/26 season (November 2025 to September 2026):

Indicator	Figure
Olive oil exported	399,300 tonnes
Export value	TND 5.0164 billion
Extra virgin share of exported volume	83.4%
Organic olive oil exported	58,800 tonnes
Destinations	more than 97 countries

Where it went, by volume:

Destination	Share
European Union	55.8%
of which Spain	31%
of which Italy	19.9%
North America	25.2%
Asia	11.6%
Africa	3.6%

What this means for a buyer:

Spain and Italy are Tunisia's two largest customers. Part of the oil sold from those countries started in Tunisia. Buying at origin removes one step.
Organic is a real volume, not a niche. About one tonne in seven exported over the period was certified organic (58,800 of 399,300 tonnes).
North America takes a quarter of the volume. The route to the United States is an established one.

Two varieties account for most Tunisian oil. Chemlali is mild and is the main variety of the centre and south. Chetoui, from the north, is more bitter and pungent. The polyphenol level of any lot is a matter for its certificate of analysis, which Module 2 teaches you to read.

Legal requirement (EU buyers): Tunisian olive oil can enter the EU at zero duty inside an annual tariff quota of 56,700 tonnes (order number 09.4032), under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761. Import licences are required and the quota can be used up early in the year. Outside the quota, the ordinary duty applies. Module 4 explains how to work with it.

Lesson 5. How to read an origin price

Two quotes can look far apart and be the same deal, or look close and be very different. Before comparing, line up five things.

The grade. Extra virgin, virgin, lampante and olive pomace oil are different products at different prices. Compare like with like.
The Incoterm. An FOB price includes loading at the origin port and nothing after it. A CIF price adds sea freight and insurance to your port. Neither includes import duty, customs clearance or inland transport at destination.
The unit. Bulk olive oil is priced per kilogram or per tonne. Bottled oil is priced per litre or per bottle. A litre of olive oil weighs less than a kilogram, so convert before you compare.
The packaging. A price in a flexitank, in drums, in IBCs or in bottles is not the same price. Ask what the price includes.
The date and the validity. Origin prices move week to week. A quote without a date or a validity period is not a quote.

Our recommendation: ask every supplier for the same thing, in writing: grade, Incoterm and port, unit, packaging, quantity, analysis of the lot offered, date and validity. You will then be comparing offers, not guesses.

Current origin prices are on our origin price page and in the price comparator. They are indicative and dated. The order calculator converts between formats and units.

Checklist: before you ask for quotes

I know which crop year the oil I am buying comes from.
I have looked at the latest IOC production figures for the origins I am considering.
I know whether this season is a large or a short crop in those origins.
I have decided which grade I need, and whether I need organic.
I have decided on bulk or bottled, and on an approximate volume.
My price request states grade, Incoterm and port, unit, packaging and quantity.
I ask for the analysis of the lot offered, not a typical analysis.
I ask for a dated quote with a validity period.
If I import into the EU, I have asked whether the lot can come inside the tariff quota.

Exercise: compare two offers

The numbers below are made up for the exercise. They are not market prices and not our prices.

You receive two offers for 20 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil in bulk:

Offer A: 4.00 per kg, FOB origin port, in a flexitank, valid 7 days, with the analysis of the lot.
Offer B: 4.10 per kg, CIF your port, in a flexitank, no validity stated, with a "typical analysis".

Sea freight and insurance for the route are quoted to you separately at 0.15 per kg.

Questions

Which offer is cheaper once both are brought to the same Incoterm?
What is missing from offer B?

Answers

Offer A at CIF is 4.00 + 0.15 = 4.15 per kg. Offer B is 4.10 per kg CIF. On price alone, B is 0.05 per kg cheaper, which is 1,000 on 20 tonnes.
Offer B has no validity period and no analysis of the actual lot. Until you have both, you cannot rely on its price or on what you would receive. Ask for them before deciding.

Quiz

Olive oil production is counted by calendar year. True or false?
According to the IOC's provisional figures, which country produced the most olive oil in 2024/25?
Name two forces that move olive oil prices.
An FOB price includes sea freight to your port. True or false?
What does a quote need, besides a price, before you can compare it with another?

Answers. 1. False: by crop year, October to September. 2. Spain, with 1,419,000 tonnes. 3. Any two of: harvest size, carry-over stocks, the harvest calendar, currency. 4. False: FOB stops at loading in the origin port. 5. Grade, Incoterm and port, unit, packaging, quantity, analysis of the lot, date and validity.

Official sources

Checked on 12 November 2026.

International Olive Council, olive sector statistics, page dated 12 January 2026: world production 2023/24, 2024/25 (provisional) and 2025/26 (estimate); production by country for 2024/25; world consumption. internationaloliveoil.org
ONAGRI (Tunisian National Observatory of Agriculture), export figures for November 2025 to September 2026, published 9 November 2026, read in the report by Tunisie Numérique.
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761, Article 36 and Annex V: tariff quota 09.4032 for Tunisian olive oil. EUR-Lex

The 2024/25 figures are provisional and the 2025/26 figure is an estimate: both will be revised by the IOC. The "about one tonne in seven" organic share and the "about 40%" Spanish share are our own calculations from the figures above.

FAQ: the olive oil market and origins

Which country produces the most olive oil?

Spain. The IOC's provisional figure for 2024/25 is 1,419,000 tonnes, about 40% of world production that year.

How much olive oil does the world produce?

The IOC gives 2,589,000 tonnes for 2023/24, a provisional 3,572,000 tonnes for 2024/25 and an estimate of about 3,440,000 tonnes for 2025/26.

How much olive oil does Tunisia produce?

The IOC's provisional figure for the 2024/25 crop year is 340,000 tonnes, 55% more than the year before. Production varies widely from one year to the next.

How much olive oil does Tunisia export?

According to ONAGRI, 399,300 tonnes in the first eleven months of the 2025/26 season (November 2025 to September 2026), to more than 97 countries.

Where does Tunisian olive oil go?

Over that period, 55.8% of the volume went to the European Union, mainly Spain (31%) and Italy (19.9%), 25.2% to North America and 11.6% to Asia.

Why do olive oil prices change so much from year to year?

Mainly because the harvest does. Olive trees alternate heavy and light years, and drought can cut a crop sharply. Low stocks after a short harvest keep prices high until the next crop is known.

What is a crop year?

The twelve months from October to September used to count olive oil production. The 2025/26 crop year runs from October 2025 to September 2026.

What is the difference between an FOB and a CIF price?

FOB covers the oil loaded on the vessel at the origin port. CIF adds sea freight and insurance to your port. Import duty, customs clearance and inland transport are extra in both cases.

Can Tunisian olive oil enter the EU without duty?

Yes, inside an annual tariff quota of 56,700 tonnes set by Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/761, with an import licence. Outside the quota the ordinary duty applies.

Is Tunisian olive oil available as organic?

Yes. ONAGRI reports 58,800 tonnes of organic olive oil exported in the first eleven months of the 2025/26 season.

Next step. The rest of the course is described on the Olive Oil Import Academy page. If you already know what you need, request a dated quote or order a sample with the analysis of its lot.

Figures checked on 12/11/2026 against the sources listed above. Training material, not legal or customs advice.