For thousands of years, olive oil has been prominent in all the great civilizations that have prospered in Tunisia. The olive tree was cultivated by the Phoenicians, the Greeks, the Carthaginians, the Romans and the Arabs, in a tradition that has been passed down from father to son ever since.

Olive cultivation in Tunisia dates back to the 8th century BC, even before the founding of Carthage by the Queen Dido. The Phoenicians were the first to introduce this crop to North Africa.

In the Carthaginian period olive cultivation started to spread thanks to special advantages granted to olive-growers.

Romans continued the expansion of olive-growing stepped-up irrigation and improved olive oil extraction techniques. Excavations at Sufeitula (present-day Sbeitla) and Thysdrus (El Jem) and Roman mosaics discovered in Sousse attest to the widespread culture of olive-trees throughout Tunisia.

Today, Tunisia is the largest olive oil producer outside the European Union, fourth in the world following Spain, Italy and Greece.