International Olive Festival Sfax 2026: Valorizing and Exporting Tunisian Olive Oil

The Tunisie Zitouna Association, chaired by Faouzi Zayani, is holding the 2026 edition of the International Olive Festival as an international meeting from 22 to 26 October 2026 in Sfax, Tunisia's olive capital. This edition runs under the theme "Valorization, Promotion and Export of Tunisian Olive Oil", in partnership with the Grenoble–Sfax Twinning Committee and with support from the Technical Centre for Packaging and Conditioning (Packtec) and the Sfax Regional Tourism Commission.

Key topics

• Geographical indications and designations of origin: their role in adding value to exported Tunisian olive oil and marketing it abroad, as a guarantee of quality and trust and a way to raise Tunisia's profile.
• Artificial intelligence: how AI can support the identity and designations of Tunisian olive oil and build its reputation in importing markets.
• Meknassy basin: a panel on the indication-of-provenance project for olive oil from the Meknassy basin, as a lever for valorizing and marketing the region's production.

Programme

• Scientific forum bringing together experts, specialists and foreign delegations to discuss the topics above.
• Olive tourism day at a rural guesthouse in the region, featuring olive picking, traditional oil pressing, and making traditional bread and pastries with olive oil.
• Round table on the health benefits of olive oil.
• B2B meetings between Tunisian and foreign industry players.
• Closing day — Monday 26 October: visit to the Olive Tree Institute in Sfax.

The organizers first announced a 23–25 October programme in September; the latest published schedule extends it to five days. The programme is provisional and may change.

Participating delegations

Delegations are expected from France (notably Grenoble and Nyons), Japan, Jordan, Germany, Palestine, Libya and Egypt.

Background

The event comes as most of Tunisia's olive oil exports are still shipped in bulk — packaged oil accounts for only about 14% of exports, according to the association's president — making designations of origin and branding key routes to higher added value. The Tunisie Zitouna Association was founded in 2015, and its festival became international from its fourth edition in 2022.

Taking part

The organizers have not yet published an online registration link. Updates are posted on the Tunisie Zitouna Association's official Facebook page.