Tunisia Olive Oil Exports Soar — 86% Still Bulk

Tunisia exported 368,000 tonnes of olive oil worth roughly $1.6 billion in the first nine months of the 2025/26 season, a 55.3% jump in volume and 44.4% jump in revenue year-on-year — but about 86% of that oil still left the country unbranded, in bulk.

The figures come from Tunisia’s National Agricultural Observatory (ONAGRI), reported by La Presse de Tunisie on October 11, 2026. Extra virgin olive oil made up 83.6% of shipments. The European Union took 57.1% of exports, led by Spain and Italy, while North America accounted for about 24%, with Tunisian oil reaching more than 70 countries in total.

Why Bulk Still Dominates Tunisia’s Olive Oil Trade

Packaged exports reached 51,500 tonnes, up 50.8% year-on-year, but still made up only about 14% of total export volume. Most Tunisian olive oil ships in bulk to Spain and Italy, where it is blended, bottled, and resold under foreign labels — meaning much of the value from packaging, marketing, and distribution is captured outside Tunisia rather than inside it.

The Push Toward Tunisian-Branded Olive Oil

Industry professionals cited by La Presse de Tunisie describe building international brands, pooling resources among small producers to create shared regional brands, and investing in packaging, traceability, and research as the path to capturing more value domestically — without abandoning the bulk trade that still anchors Tunisia’s export volume. For buyers, that bulk-heavy mix (still around 86% of exports) also means real room to source Tunisian olive oil under your own label: Tunisian Olive Oil Trade’s broker services connect buyers with vetted suppliers for both bulk lots and private-label packaging.

FAQ

What share of Tunisia’s olive oil exports is sold in bulk rather than packaged? About 86% of Tunisia’s olive oil exports left the country in bulk form in the first nine months of the 2025/26 season, with packaged exports accounting for roughly 14% of the 368,000 tonnes shipped, according to Tunisia’s National Agricultural Observatory (ONAGRI).

Which countries buy the most Tunisian olive oil? The European Union took 57.1% of Tunisia’s olive oil exports in the period, led by Spain and Italy, which often import bulk oil for blending and repackaging; North America accounted for about 24%, with more than 70 countries importing Tunisian oil in total.

Source: La Presse de Tunisie