Rising Value of Extra Virgin Olive Oil Exports Boosts Italy’s Agrifood Sector
Italian extra virgin olive oil exports reached €2.5 billion in 2024, a 45 percent increase from the previous year, helping drive Italian agri-food exports to a record €69 billion. The United States is the biggest market for Italian olive oil, with exports to Japan also increasing significantly.
The value of Italian extra virgin olive oil exports reached €2.5 billion in 2024, an increase of 45 percent from the previous year, according to an analysis of regional data provided by the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) and analyzed by the farmers’ union Coldiretti.
With the highest value growth, extra virgin olive oil helped drive Italian agri-food exports to a record €69 billion.
“The increase in value is a pivotal aspect, since it not only reinforces the idea that Italy is an important producer of premium extra virgin olive oils, but it also demonstrates a greater awareness of consumers,” Nicola Di Noia, the director general of the olive oil producers’ consortium Unaprol, told Olive Oil Times.
See Also:E.U. Removes Tariffs on Chilean Olive Oil Imports“Italy has an extraordinary olive biodiversity, so consumers can find a wide variety of Italian extra virgin olive oils with different sensory profiles, which result from the country’s wealth of cultivars and regions,” he added.
Coldiretti underlined that the exports of the country’s leading agricultural and food products are all on the rise.
Wine was the leading item, with a value of €8.1 billion and a 5.5‑percent growth at the end of last year. Fresh and processed fruit and vegetables reached a value of € 6.5 billion and €5.7 billion, respectively, with a six-percent increase.
Cheese exports increased by nine percent, reaching a value of €5.4 billion. Pasta followed, with a five-percent growth, reaching €4.3 billion. Cured meats and fish reached €2.3 and €1 billion, respectively.
The United States is the biggest market for Italian olive oil, followed by Germany, France, Canada and Japan. In Japan, the value of Italian extra virgin olive oil exports recorded a 56-percent increase at the end of 2024 compared to the previous year.
New data released by the International Olive Council (IOC) indicates that in the 2023/24 crop year, Italian olive oil exports to the U.S. reached 113,135 metric tons, a slight increase (three percent) compared to the previous crop year.
The IOC data show that over the past six years, Italy, Spain, Tunisia, and Turkey have been among the leading suppliers of olive oil to the U.S. These countries collectively account for 86 percent of the country’s total imports.
Coldiretti said in a recent press release that Italian agri-food exports, an asset of the country’s economy, have the potential to reach €100 billion by 2030.
Their value in the U.S.at the end of last year amounted to €7.8 billion, a record jeopardized by President Donald J. Trump’s threat of tariffs.
The producers’ organization observed that the hypothesis of an additional 25 percent tariff on Italian agri-food exports might cause sales to drop, with the further risk of fueling the counterfeit industry.
It is estimated that if tariffs are adopted, American consumers will pay €2 billion more, almost €500 million more for wine, around €240 million more for olive oil, €170 million more for pasta and €120 million more for cheese.
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