Global Experts, Top Producers to Gather at International Symposium in Postira, Croatia

The pic­turesque vil­lage of Postira on the Croatian island of Brač is prepar­ing to host a major inter­na­tional event that reflects its grow­ing rep­u­ta­tion as a cen­ter of excel­lence in olive oil pro­duc­tion.

From September 16 to 18, the International Symposium on Olive Oils of Croatia and the Adriatic Coast will bring together lead­ing olive oil pro­duc­ers, researchers, edu­ca­tors, and culi­nary pro­fes­sion­als from around the world. Organized by Olive Oil Times in col­lab­o­ra­tion with the Postira Tourist Board and under the patron­age of Croatia’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, the sym­po­sium aims to cel­e­brate and advance the region’s olive oil her­itage.

“From the begin­ning, we believed that agri­cul­ture, fish­ing, and tourism could grow hand in hand,” said Ivana Jelinčić, direc­tor of the Postira Tourist Board. ​“Or as we say here, ​‘šoto­braco’ — walk­ing arm in arm.”

Backed by spon­sors includ­ing Split-Dalmatia County, the Croatian National Tourist Board, and the munic­i­pal­ity of Postira, the sym­po­sium reflects years of care­ful posi­tion­ing. The town began build­ing its iden­tity around olive oil a decade ago with the local Fešta od uja (Olive Oil Festival), fol­lowed by the launch of the World Championship in Olive Picking two years later.

Now, this lat­est inter­na­tional gath­er­ing will fea­ture expert-led work­shops, guided tast­ings, vis­its to cen­turies-old olive groves, and live culi­nary demon­stra­tions. Topics will include sus­tain­able farm­ing prac­tices, the impact of cli­mate change on olive cul­ti­va­tion, and the devel­op­ment of pre­mium brands.

Brač is an ideal host. With more than one mil­lion olive trees and a tra­di­tion of cul­ti­va­tion that stretches back cen­turies, the island is home to the cel­e­brated Oblica vari­ety — also known glob­ally as Brač Olive. In 2022, the European Commission granted Brač Olive Oil pro­tected des­ig­na­tion of ori­gin sta­tus, secur­ing its place among Europe’s elite agri­cul­tural prod­ucts.

The sym­po­sium will open with a wel­come recep­tion hosted by Olive Oil Times edi­tor-in-chief Curtis Cord and Croatia’s Minister of Tourism and Sports, Tonči Glavina.

Over the fol­low­ing two days, par­tic­i­pants will immerse them­selves in expert instruc­tion and hands-on expe­ri­ences across Brač’s olive-grow­ing heart­land. ​“The pro­gram is designed to high­light the region’s unwa­ver­ing com­mit­ment to qual­ity and inno­va­tion,” orga­niz­ers said.

Croatian olive oil pro­duc­ers have plenty to cel­e­brate. At this year’s NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition in New York — the world’s largest and most pres­ti­gious olive oil qual­ity con­test — Croatia secured sec­ond place over­all with 125 awards (101 gold, 24 sil­ver), behind only Italy, which entered nearly twice as many oils.

“Based on suc­cess per sam­ple, we out­per­formed every coun­try,” said Tomislav Duvnjak, owner of the fam­ily-run Sveti Ivan mill in Vodice.

Neighboring Adriatic pro­duc­ers are also gain­ing recog­ni­tion. Growers from Herzegovina earned 11 awards this year — up from just one or two in pre­vi­ous years, while pro­duc­ers from Slovenia and Montenegro con­tinue to improve and expand their global foot­print.

The sym­po­sium will cul­mi­nate in a clos­ing cer­e­mony hon­or­ing stand­out pro­duc­ers and pre­sent­ing the Olive Oil Times Champion of Excellence awards to indi­vid­u­als who have made excep­tional con­tri­bu­tions to the high-qual­ity olive oil sec­tor.

And the cel­e­bra­tions won’t end there. In October, Postira will wel­come par­tic­i­pants from more than a dozen coun­tries for the 8^th World Championship in Olive Picking, with all team spots already filled.

“We look for­ward to wel­com­ing the world to Postira,” said Jelinčić. ​“It’s a proud moment for our com­mu­nity and our olive oil legacy.”