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Tunisia’s National Oil Office recorded positive development in olive oil exports during the first seven months of the season, from November 2024 to the end of May 2025.
Exported volumes reached 207,000 tonnes, with revenues of 2.8 billion Tunisian dinars. These figures are encouraging, with expectations of new record levels in packaged oil exports, which currently reach more than 60 markets worldwide, led by European markets, especially Italy and Spain.
Tunisian olive oil recently achieved strong visibility in several international competitions, helping support exports to new markets, particularly the United States.
Tunisia’s first-place win at an international competition in Miami, with 55 gold medals and 3 silver medals in the quality category, along with 17 gold medals in the health category, helped strengthen exports to the US market, which imports around 400,000 tonnes of olive oil annually.
In 2025, 57 Tunisian olive oil producers won awards at the Istanbul International Olive Oil Competition, including 44 gold medals.
Tunisian olive oil also won 60 gold medals and 4 silver medals at the Afro-Asian competition in Abu Dhabi, opening wider prospects in Asian markets, which are generally cautious toward organic products.
In Japan, Tunisian olive oil won 16 medals, including 9 gold and 6 silver, at OLIVE JAPAN 2025. Tunisia also ranked second globally in the Mario Solinas competition and won 30 gold medals at the Scandinavian competition.
These results encouraged the Export Promotion Center to intensify promotion of the product during OSAKA 2025.
Despite continued success in awards and product quality, olive oil export revenues fell by 31% to 3.03 billion dinars by the end of June 2025, compared with 4.39 billion dinars during the same period in 2024, according to the National Observatory of Agriculture.
Bulk oil accounted for 80.3% of revenues, while packaged oil represented only 19.7%.
Data also showed that Tunisia’s olive oil export price fell by 49.1% in June 2025, with prices ranging between 6.8 and 17.8 dinars per kilogram.
Packaged oil accounted for only 13.6% of exported volumes, while 86.4% was exported in bulk form, mostly extra virgin olive oil.
Tunisia’s exports of organic olive oil this season reached around 45,000 tonnes, generating more than 610 million dinars in revenue, with packaged oil accounting for only 6%.
Organic olive oil represents a unique opportunity for Tunisia because of limited global competition in this field. It could serve as a promising gateway to Asian markets, especially Japan and China, where demand for natural and organic products is rising.
In the face of strong global competition, economic diplomacy remains crucial in supporting and marketing Tunisian olive oil internationally. Organic olive oil, where Tunisia has a competitive advantage, could be a winning card for entering new markets and strengthening revenues.
Source: Mosaique FM