The olive and olive oil sector is entering a season without a target in exports

While high yields of table olives and olive oil are expected in Türkiye in the 2026-2027 season, the sector has entered an aimless and difficult period in exports due to the increase in production and low prices around the world. Türkiye's olive and olive oil exports decreased by 28 percent in the January-September period of 2026 compared to the same period last year, falling from 381 million dollars to 273 million dollars. The export amount, which was 121 thousand tons in the first 9 months of last year, reached 87 thousand tons in the same period of this year. When the sub-product groups are examined, black olive exports decreased by 14 percent on quantity basis to 48 thousand 100 tons, and on value basis decreased by 9 percent to 127 million dollars. Green olive exports decreased by 19 percent to 14 thousand 400 tons, and export revenue decreased by 11 percent to 41.3 million dollars. Affected by global price movements and restrictions, the export amount of olive oil decreased by 53 percent to 15 thousand 700 tons, and the revenue decreased by 48 percent to 82.1 million dollars. Pomace oil exports also decreased by 40 percent and were recorded as 8 thousand 600 tons and 22.8 million dollars.

M. Emre Uygun, President of the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters' Association, stated that the data from the field point to a high yield in the new season and said, "We want to turn the increase in production into export success, but increasing costs, difficulties in accessing financing and trade barriers in international markets stand out as the difficulties before the new season."

Pointing out that high yields offer an important opportunity for the sector, but global competition is also increasing, Uygun said:

"High yields are expected in Spain, Italy, Greece and Tunisia, the largest producing countries in the world. This situation reduces the export chances of Turkish olive oil. We will try to keep our exports afloat in 2027 with our OLIVEtoLIVE UR-GE project, international fairs, sectoral trade delegations and our export strategy focusing on packaged, value-added products. We want to increase our sector exports to 1 billion dollars in the medium term."

Stating that customs duties and quota practices in the US and European Union (EU) markets are the main obstacles to growth, Uygun emphasized that regulations that will increase the competitiveness of the sector are needed.

Listing their demands for target markets, Uygun said, "The additional customs duty of 12.5 percent applied to Turkish products in the US market needs to be abolished. We demand that the current 100-ton olive oil quota in the European Union be increased to at least 60 thousand tons. We also closely follow the free trade agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom. We expect our olives and olive oil to enter the UK market with zero customs duty. We must improve our market access opportunities in order to turn high yields into export increases in the new season, "We must increase our exports of value-added and packaged products," he said.