Tunisia is on track to surpass Italy and Greece to become the world’s second-largest olive oil producer this season, according to a report by the Financial Times, providing a critical injection of foreign currency for its heavily indebted economy.
Industry figures and analysts cited by the FT attribute the expected record harvest to favorable rainfall and high global prices that have incentivized production. Vito Martielli, senior grains and oilseeds analyst at Rabobank, forecasts Tunisia will produce 380,000 to 400,000 tonnes of oil in the 2025-26 season, up from an estimated 340,000 tonnes the previous season.
Najeh Saidi Hamed, head of the Tunisian Olive Producers Chamber, told the FT she hopes the harvest could reach 500,000 tonnes, a “record level.”
The windfall comes as Tunisia’s economy struggles with weak growth and high public debt following President Kais Saied’s power grab in 2021. The country has been locked out of international debt markets since rejecting a $1.9bn IMF bailout in 2023.
“Olive oil exports and a flourishing tourism sector have been important drivers of foreign currency revenue for Tunisia,” the FT reports. James Swanston, senior economist at Capital Economics, noted that record olive oil exports of $1.3bn in 2023 helped at “a time of big external strains.”
Most Tunisian oil is exported in bulk to Italy, where it is often blended and re-exported under European labels, a practice that obscures its origin. Spain, France, and the United States are also key markets.
TunisianMonitorOnline (NejiMed)
