Turkey Seeks Greater Returns From Olive Oil Expansion
Turkey has dramatically expanded olive oil production over the past two decades, but producers and exporters say stronger branding is now needed to capture more value in international markets.
Fueled by government policies that encouraged the planting of new groves, Turkey’s olive sector has expanded dramatically over the past two decades.
The number of olive trees in the country has nearly doubled, from about 100 million in the early 2000s to roughly 200 million today. As a result, Turkey recorded an unprecedented yield of about 475,000 metric tons of olive oil in the previous 2024/25 harvest season.
The expansion has also been recognized internationally. Jaime Lillo López, executive director of the International Olive Council, praised Turkey for establishing itself among the world’s most significant producers.
“Looking at the data from the last five seasons (2020–2025), Turkey seems to have consolidated its position as the world’s second-largest producer of olive oil and table olives,” Lillo told Anadolu Agency in January.
“Turkey already makes a great contribution to the olive community,” he added.
But the rapid growth in production has also created a challenge. Large quantities of Turkish olive oil continue to be exported in bulk or stored in warehouses across the country, limiting the value captured by domestic producers.
In other words, supply has grown faster than the brand value of Turkish olive oil.
Nilufer Koray, director of sales operations at Gaia Oliva, a producer and exporter in Manisa, said Turkey has invested heavily in new groves and modern milling technology over the last two decades.
“As a result, the number of olive trees has grown to around 200 million, and this expansion has also encouraged producers to focus more on quality, traceability and sustainable production,” Koray told Olive Oil Times.
“However, a significant portion of Turkish olive oil is still exported in bulk and later bottled under other countries’ brands,” he added.
Koray said the next step for the sector is to strengthen the presence of Turkish olive oil in international markets under domestic labels.
“Our goal today is not only to produce more olive oil, but to share the quality, identity and heritage of Turkish olive oil with the world,” he said.
In that context, the sector is actively exploring new ways to improve the branding and global positioning of Turkish olive oil.
EZZIB, the Aegean Olive and Olive Oil Exporters’ Association, has launched the “OlivetoLive” UR-GE project, a three-year initiative aimed at boosting the competitiveness and exports of Turkish olive oil.
Association chair Mehmet Emre Uygun said the initiative includes training and consultancy for exporters, participation in international trade shows and targeted marketing guidance designed to increase overseas sales.
Uygun also said the Turkish olive oil sector “lost its competitiveness when incorrect decisions made regarding our sector over the last three years coincided with the disinflation process in Turkey.”
“We entered the 2025/26 season in November. In the first month, our olive oil exports plummeted by 80 percent, falling from 8,636 tons to 1,701 tons,” he added. “In other words, our exports have come to a standstill.”
In Antalya, an important olive-growing area in the country’s southwest, a workshop organized by the Antalya Commodity Exchange and the provincial directorates of Agriculture and Forestry and Culture and Tourism examined ways to promote the region’s olive oil industry.
The workshop report said Antalya’s strong production potential alone is not enough to increase the value of the local olive oil sector. It outlined 30 strategic recommendations for 2026 to 2035 to strengthen the industry and expand exports.
Among its conclusions, the report said improvements in quality, traceability, branding and tourism are needed to create new momentum for Antalya olive oil.
“There is a general consensus that Antalya could achieve a stronger position in olive oil production if a quality-focused transformation framework covering the period 2026 to 2035 is developed,” the report stated.
Turkish producers have also voiced concern about the value lost each year when large volumes of oil are exported in bulk or remain idle in storage.
Farmer Ercan Dalkılıç from Akhisar in Manisa province said Turkey has yet to develop strong branding for its olive oil.
“Approximately 40 percent of the olive oil produced in Turkey each year is exported in bulk, mainly to Spain, but also to Italy, France and Greece,” Dalkılıç said.
“Because we haven’t been able to create a strong branding for olive oil, we are unable to add value to the country. Although steps have been taken in this direction in recent years, I believe the government should provide more assistance in this area.”
Dalkılıç also said that prolonged storage in warehouses can degrade oil quality because many producers lack proper storage facilities.
“As a result, it is safe to say that tons of olive oil lose their quality over time,” he said.
He also questioned the level of trust some Turkish consumers place in domestic olive oil brands.
“Lately, we’ve seen people importing and consuming olive oil from other countries,” he said. “They can’t trust the brands in our country. However, they also need to know that some of that oil is actually of Turkish origin.”
“Turkey can be a world giant in olive oil and we can spread this prosperity to the base,” he concluded. “This depends on farmers coming together and sitting at the table on equal terms with other stakeholders in the sector.”