Olive oil: exports have doubled
February 19, 2025 at 9:38 AM ,
Der AUDITOR
Drastic increase in exports of table olives
Turkish olive exports recorded a significant increase in the first three months of the new season (October-December 2024). A total of 27,132 mt of table olives worth USD 69.601 million were shipped overseas, representing a 24% increase in export volume and a 26.1% increase in export value during this period. Of these, 21,525 mt were black olives (+23%) worth USD 54.711 million (+23%) and 5,607 mt were green olives (+28%) worth USD 14.890 million (+39%).
Iraq (+23% to 5,173 mt or +34% to USD 10.406 million) is the most important buyer of black olives from Turkey, followed by Romania (+45% to 4,362 mt or +22% to USD 7.535 million) and Germany (+7% to 3,468 mt or +17% to USD 12.223 million). Meanwhile, the most important countries for green olives are also Iraq (+77% to 1,186 mt or +89% to USD 2.6 million), Germany (+4% to 770 mt worth USD 2.555 million) and the USA (+61% to 400 mt or +89% to USD 1.207 million).
Turkey among the top performers
A total of around 3.75 million mt of olives were harvested in Turkey in the 2024/2025 season, an increase of 147% compared to the previous year, and olive oil production has also increased by 157% to 475,000 mt so far. According to estimates, this would make Turkey the world's largest producer of table olives and the second largest olive oil producer in the world. Thanks to the support of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and various subsidy programmes, the olive tree population has more than doubled from 102 million in 2002 to 205 million trees by 2024.
The Turkish olive oil export season officially started on 1 November 2024. In the first two months of the current season (November-December), Turkey exported a total of 16,086 mt of olive oil (+101% compared to the previous year) worth USD 86.405 million (+53% compared to the previous year). The main customers were the USA (7,520 mt), followed by Italy (1,811 mt) and Spain (1,224 mt).
EU imports remain in decline
Since the start of the 2024/2025 season on 1 October, a total of 22,837 mt of olive oil (EU categories 1 to 5, treated and untreated) worth EUR 110,032 have been imported into the EU from third countries, meaning that the import volume has fallen by 18.3% compared to the same period last year, while the import value has almost halved. The reason for this is likely to be the significant increase in production volumes in EU producing countries this year.
Shipments from Tunisia (-3.6% to 18,360 mt), Morocco (-49.2% to 1,060 mt) and Egypt (-87.1% to 411 mt) declined noticeably, while imports from Turkey (+71.1% to 630 mt) and Algeria (+129.0% to 332 mt) increased year-on-year. The main importers in the EU were Italy (+26.6% to 12,940 mt), France (-3.3% to 3,850 mt) and Spain (-67.1% to 3,820 mt), although Spain was able to record a significantly better crop last year, which is also reflected in the import values.
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EU olive oil imports, in mt |
|||
|
Supplier |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
Diff. |
|
Tunisia |
19,040 |
18,360 |
-3.6% |
|
Morocco |
2,087 |
1,060 |
-49.2% |
|
Turkey |
367 |
630 |
71.7% |
|
Egypt |
3,185 |
411 |
-87.1% |
|
Algeria |
145 |
332 |
129.0% |
|
Others |
3,119 |
2,044 |
-34.5% |
|
Total |
27,943 |
22,837 |
-18.3% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/10-09/02 15092000+15093000+15094000+15099000 Olive oil |
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