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A CNN investigation has revealed that Tunisia, a country with a 3,000-year heritage in olive cultivation, has emerged as the world's second-largest olive oil producer in the 2025/2026 season, trailing only Spain. Yet, despite this production weight, Tunisian olive oil has all but vanished from the labels of bottles found on international retail shelves.
Roughly 86% of Tunisia's olive oil exports are shipped in bulk and bottled abroad under foreign brand names, with Spain, Italy, and the United States ranking as the top importing markets. The imported Tunisian oil is frequently blended with local production, with no indication of its true origin on the label.
European Union regulations permit vague origin statements such as 'a blend of olive oils of EU and non-EU origin', while U.S. labels can blur the line between the country of import, processing, and harvest, since these stages often occur in different locations.
Sara Ben Ramadan, founder of the premium organic extra virgin olive oil brand 'KAÏA', says the number of olive trees in Tunisia exceeds the country's population and that every family has a history with the crop. 'Unfortunately, our country has lost that deep, personal connection we once had with our land and its fruits,' she told CNN. 'Our olive oil is among the best in the world, and these stereotypes are the product of an injustice imposed on us by foreigners. That is why I wanted a brand like KAÏA to challenge this reality.'
Tunisian economist Fadel Kaboub, associate professor at Denison University in Ohio and author of the newsletter 'Global South Perspectives', attributes part of the problem to colonial legacy. 'The real competition is not in growing olives but in controlling the value chain. This stems from colonialism, which entrenched a narrative that persists to this day: that former colonies, like Tunisia, are meant to supply cheap raw materials rather than high-end finished products,' he said. Tunisia was under French rule from 1881 to 1956, and Kaboub argues that legacy continues to shape how the Tunisian government and the EU manage the olive oil sector.
Tunisian farmers, Kaboub notes, struggle to secure domestic financing because land is largely inherited through tribal lines and lacks modern, documented titles. With limited financing options, most farmers are forced to sell their crops nearly a year in advance to bulk Italian or Spanish buyers at low prices, a model that entrenches rural poverty and undervalues Tunisian oil. Working conditions can be deadly: seasonal workers, the vast majority of whom are women, are routinely piled into cargo and livestock trucks that fall far below basic safety standards, in what has been dubbed the 'death trucks', with dozens of accidents and fatalities recorded over the past decade.
In response, Ben Ramadan is joining a wave of independent Tunisian producers, including award-winning 'Les Moulins Mahjoub', 'Triomphe de Tuccabor' by producer Ben Ismail, and 'Domaine Fendri', in their push to win recognition for the quality of Tunisian oils. Born in Paris to a Tunisian father and a Syrian mother and raised in London, she says: 'We are practically working to liberate the olive oil trade from the dominance of old colonial practices. This message is at the heart of our brand story, and I truly hope this initiative inspires a new local model.'
In just five years, KAÏA has leveraged the quality of the local 'Chemlali' winter olive variety and a compelling brand narrative to place its products in some of the world's most prestigious gourmet retailers, including 'La Grande Épicerie', 'Berrie', 'Causses', and 'G. Detou' in Paris; 'Selfridges' and 'Harrods' in the UK; 'Sabah' in New York; and 'Monsieur Marcel' in Los Angeles. The brand supplies roughly 100 gourmet food stores and 50 restaurants across France, ranging from the Michelin-recommended 'Pluto' to 'Café Les Deux Gares' and the 'Savoir Vivre' hospitality group, in addition to retail points of sale inside boutique hotels in Tunisia.
KAÏA's oil retails at $34.99 for a 50-centiliter (17 fl oz) bottle in U.S. outlets, a premium price point that, according to the founder, allows the company to employ around 50 women at equal pay to men, a rare practice in the country, and to export a product defined by quality and story rather than volume and low cost. 'It requires a great deal of effort and ambition, but I am very excited to be part of this new sector in the country,' she said.
To meet rising demand, Ben Ramadan is investing in a dedicated mill slated to open in 2027, which will take the company from a shared facility to full operational independence, lift annual production beyond the current 10 metric tons, and potentially transform the site into an olive oil tourism destination, another step, in her view, toward elevating Tunisia's standing in the global olive oil industry.
Source: CNN