Why Tunisian Olive Oil Rarely Says “Product of Tunisia”

Tunisia is one of the world’s largest olive oil producers and exporters, but most of its oil never reaches store shelves labeled as Tunisian, because roughly 86% of it is still shipped in bulk, then bottled, blended, or rebranded once it lands in buyer countries. That’s the paradox CNN highlighted this week, in a report on Tunisia’s olive oil industry covered by the Tunisian outlet Webdo, noting that although the country exported 368,000 tonnes of olive oil this season, only 51,500 tonnes were packaged and sold under identifiable labels, with much of the rest disappearing into other brands once it reaches Spain, Italy, and the United States, the top three destinations for Tunisian oil.

Bulk Exports Still Dominate, But Packaged Oil Is Growing Fast

On September 10, 2026, the CEO of Tunisia’s National Oil Office (ONH), Moez Ben Amor, announced that exports had passed 380,000 tonnes in ten months, generating about 4.8 billion dinars in revenue. There is an encouraging signal in the data: packaged oil exports have already reached 55,000 tonnes this campaign, up from 42,000 tonnes across the entire previous campaign, with the ONH now targeting 60,000 tonnes by season’s end. Tunisian brands are now present in 82 foreign markets, including seven new ones this year.

One Brand’s Bet on Tunisian Identity

CNN singled out KAÏA, a brand founded by Sarah Ben Romdane, as an example of a different strategy: selling olive oil directly under its own name and Tunisian origin story, rather than as an anonymous bulk ingredient, targeting the premium end of the market. For international buyers, the takeaway is practical: sourcing named, traceable Tunisian oil, rather than unlabeled bulk shipments, is what allows a Tunisian oil’s origin, and its price premium, to survive the trip to a foreign shelf. Buyers exploring this approach can see how it works on our Tunisian suppliers page.

FAQ

Why doesn’t Tunisian olive oil say “Product of Tunisia” on most bottles sold abroad? Because most of it, about 86% of Tunisia’s exports as of late July 2026, is shipped in bulk to countries like Spain, Italy, and the United States, where it is often bottled, blended, or sold under other brands, so the Tunisian origin does not appear on the final label.

Is Tunisia’s packaged olive oil export growing? Yes. Tunisia’s National Oil Office reported that packaged exports reached about 55,000 tonnes in the current campaign, up from 42,000 tonnes in the entire previous campaign, with a target of 60,000 tonnes by the season’s end.

Source: Webdo, September 12, 2026, citing CNN.