Tunisia’s olive oil sector looks set for a record harvest amid falling prices and fraud allegations. Image source: Pixabay
The olive oil sector in Tunisia looks set to have a record harvest in 2025/26 amid falling prices and fraud allegations, Olive Oil Times wrote.
Olive oil production in the country was estimated at 400,000-50,000 tonnes, leading to increased export potential, the 8 October report said.
However, the sector faces challenges such as low export prices, alleged illegal sales to Spanish buyers and concerns about the impact on the international olive oil market, according to the report.
In the previous year, production was below 340,000 tonnes, according to figures from the International Olive Council (IOC).
Announcing the official start of the country’s new olive campaign, Tunisian President Kaïs Saied welcomed opportunities to export more olive oil to countries in Asia and Latin America.
However, those trade routes represented a fraction of Tunisia’s olive oil exports, which mostly go to the European Union (EU) and the USA, Olive Oil Times wrote.
In addition, the USA had imposed a 25% tariff on olive oil imports from Tunisia, the report said.
Saied also highlighted ongoing problems impacting the Tunisian olive oil sector, calling for progress in all phases of production – from farming to harvesting, processing and trade – and called for more support for smallholder farmers.
With low export prices currently representing the main obstacle to the sector’s development and a cause of growing unrest among farmers, the Tunisian government is also pushing for more bottled olive oil exports, which carry a higher market value, according to the report.
The National Observatory of Agriculture (ONAGRI) reported a 40.1% increase in olive oil exports from November 2024-April 2025.
Despite the record figures, earnings dropped by 28.9%, from approximately €1bn (US$1.15bn) to €715.5M (US$822M).
According to sources, a substantial portion of the low-priced bulk sales of Tunisian olive oil during the 2024/2025 campaign was not driven by legitimate market dynamics.
Some export companies allegedly sold Tunisian olive oil to Spanish buyers at €2.80 (US$3.22)/kg, below the official price of €3.40 (US$3.90)/kg, Jeune Afrique magazine wrote.
According to a report by Italian financial newspaper Italia Oggi, low-price sales are ongoing. Its sources said that major Spanish buyers were currently negotiating large volumes of Tunisian olive oil “for a price way lower than the official market prices” and this was expected to affect olive oil prices in 2025/2026 across all major markets.
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