The announcement comes after intense lobbying from agricultural interest groups, and despite the European Commission’s desire to merge several funding streams into a single “national and regional partnerships” payment delivered to each capital.

The objective of the budget reforms is to boost Europe’s defense spending and economic competitiveness, but came after the European Commission acknowledged that many small farms would go out of business without the direct payments made through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

In a petition addressed to the commission, more than 3,100 farming groups said combining the CAP into the single payment would leave farmers at risk of losing out to emerging priorities, such as energy and defence.

Despite separating direct payment for farmers from the rest of the budget, European Commission officials expect the overall budget of the CAP to fall from its current €386 billion, which represents about one-third of the E.U. spending.

Carmen Crespo, a member of the European Parliament (MEP) from the center-right Popular Party in Spain and the former agriculture minister of olive oil-soaked Andalusia, defended the need to ringfence CAP payments to farmers.

“The CAP can only continue to do its job if it is separated from cohesion funds,” she said at a press conference. “The CAP is the true foundation of agriculture as a key strategic sector in Europe’s trade balance.”

According to El Economista, merging the direct payments to farmers and CAP into the single payment scheme would have cut payments to farmers by up to 20 percent. Andalusia, the world’s largest olive oil-producing region by a significant margin, received €1.3 billion from the CAP in 2024.

The move to ringfence direct payments to farmers comes after widespread protests by farmers in 2023 and 2024 led the European Commission to propose changes to the CAP, including loosening environmental rules for small farmers.

The budget debate is also taking place against the backdrop of ongoing trade negotiations between the United States and the European Union.   

European negotiations told the Financial Times they expect to sign a temporary “framework,” agreeing to the baseline ten percent tariff rate the U.S. has imposed on nearly every country since the start of April, until a deal can be reached. 

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the United States imported $1.5 (€1.4) billion of olive oil from Greece, Italy and Spain in 2023, the last year for which a complete data set exists.

President Donald J. Trump has set a deadline of August 1st to conclude trade negotiations before implementing a 30 percent tariff on imports from the E.U.

The Trump administration has also sent letters to more than a dozen other countries, imposing new tariff rates set to come into force on August 1st, including a 25 percent tariff on Tunisia.

The North African country, which World Bank data show was the third-largest olive oil exporter to the U.S. in 2023, previously faced a 28 percent tariff.

Trump also announced the reinstatement of 30 percent tariffs on South Africa, which exported 35,500 kilograms of virgin and extra virgin olive oil to the U.S. in 2023. Algeria, which shipped nearly 20,000 kilograms that year, also faces the original 30 percent tariff.

• FT
• El Economista

E.U. exports to the U.S. currently face a ten percent tariff imposed in April, which could rise to the original rate of 20 percent. U.S. President Donald J. Trump had previously threatened Europe with 50 percent tariffs if a deal was not reached. 

New data showing U.S. tariff revenue increased fourfold over the past year, with trade volumes declining by 25 percent from March 2025 to April, when the tariffs were implemented, are expected to buoy the administration’s confidence in the policy and lower the chances of a détente.

While producers from around the olive oil world have told Olive Oil Times that consumer prices are unlikely to rise before the start of the next harvest, the uncertainty of what tariffs will be when the first Northern Hemisphere olive oil is produced in October makes it impossible to plan for the future. 

Producers have not ruled out raising prices to cover the cost of the tariff or diverting products away from the U.S. to other markets.

“The problem is uncertainty, because the U.S. government has already given at least four versions of what the policy will be, and so far it has not applied any,” said Juan Vilar, the chief executive of Vilcon, a strategic consultancy in the olive oil sector. “The first thing we need is certainty before we determine what the impact will be.”

Meanwhile, the four European countries that comprise the European Free Trade Agreement – Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland – have signed a deal to remove tariffs on imports from the four South American countries that make up Mercosur, which includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. 

According to World Bank trade data, Switzerland imported 126 kilograms of virgin and extra virgin olive oil valued at $1,260 (€1,165) from Argentina and five kilograms of virgin and extra virgin olive oil valued at $800 (€740) from Uruguay in 2023. 

The deal is expected to remove tariffs applied to olive oil imports by Swiss authorities, ostensibly paving the way for South American exporters to compete with European producers that already enjoy free trade access to the Swiss market.

Overall, the data show the three largest EFTA members combined to import 16.9 million kilograms of virgin and extra virgin olive oil valued at $144 (€133) million in 2023. 

However, there were no olive oil exports from the Mercosur countries to Norway or Iceland, as these countries do not currently apply tariffs on virgin and extra virgin olive oil imports from Argentina and Uruguay. No trade data for Liechtenstein, the seventh smallest country in the world by population, were available for analysis.

The EFTA-Mercosur trade deal comes shortly after the E.U. and Chile signed a free trade agreement, removing tariffs on Chilean olive oil imports. Meanwhile, the E.U. and Mercosur trade deal awaits ratification by E.U. capitals.

The raft of trade deals paves the way for more exports from South America, the largest olive oil-producing region outside the Mediterranean Basin, to Europe at a time when European exporters are dealing with the uncertainty created by U.S. tariffs, with limited alternatives. 

“The United States is our biggest market,” said Manuel Norte Santo, the export manager of the Portuguese producer and exporter Est. Manual Silva Torrado. “It’s very complicated to predict what will happen. We’ve been talking with our clients, and they told us that we need to wait a few months to understand what will happen since the Trump administration is very volatile.”

• FT
• EFTA

“With an accomplished record of brand development and operational excellence, Giacomo Campinoti is a natural choice to serve as CEO and lead Filippo Berio USA into a new era of innovation and expansion,” said Salov Group chief executive Gianmarco Laviola. 

“The U.S. is a key market for Filippo Berio, and we are certain that Giacomo will sustain the storied brand’s legacy while creating compelling new growth opportunities,” he added.

Campinoti, a certified public accountant, previously served in management and executive roles at several food industry and luxury brands, including nearly 11 non-consecutive years as the chief financial officer and later as the chief executive of De Cecco USA, which produces and imports Italian extra virgin olive oil, pasta and pasta sauces. 

Before that, he worked as the director of finance and accounting for Italian coffee giant Lavazza and as the financial reporting budget manager at fashion house Benetton USA.

Now, the Florence native will be expected to expand Filippo Berio’s market share in the world’s second-largest olive oil-consuming country and brand awareness through strategic partnerships and consumer education.

Immediately, Campinoti will face uncertainty around the imposition of a ten percent tariff by the United States on imports from nearly every country, including olive oil from the European Union.

Marco De Feo, the vice president of marketing at Filippo Berio USA, told Olive Oil Times in a March 2025 interview that the company has a responsibility to lobby the U.S. government for exemptions for olive oil, emphasizing how the product aligns with the “Make America Healthy Again” policy.

“The main point is that there is not enough oil locally to supply the demand,” De Feo said. “Hopefully, the government will understand and allow olive oil to come in without major tariffs disrupting the entire supply chain.”

“If the tariffs do not last for too long, prices are unlikely to rise,” he added. “If they last longer, that will create some disruption.”

Another challenge facing Campinoti will be to increase household penetration in the olive oil category, which currently stands at about 50 percent.

“We saw household penetration spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people were cooking at home much more, and that helped increase olive oil consumption,” De Feo said. “Due to the supply chain issues that we experienced during the last two years, household penetration has fallen to pre-Covid levels.”

“It’s unfortunate, but that shows there is potential to grow the category,” he added. “We might never reach 90 percent, but even reaching 60 or 65 percent would be a huge increase, considering per capita consumption is still less than one liter.” 

Campinotini is also expected to be tasked with increasing sales outside of the northeastern U.S., which accounts for approximately 30 percent of the market share. 

Expansion efforts will include taking on companies such as Costco and Walmart, the latter of which dominates olive oil sales in the southeastern U.S.

De Feo has identified Asian American consumers as a diverse and promising demographic for achieving this goal.

“When we look at Asian populations and consumers here in the U.S., we see a culture that embraces the melting pot and fusion culture of trying different foods and cuisines,” he said.

“A lot of Asian Americans who now understand olive oil health benefits are one of the major new consumer groups entering the category, and they tend to select within the olive oil category, the more mild and delicate flavor profiles,” De Feo added. “Instead of a robust extra virgin olive oil, they may prefer refined olive oil or extra light olive oil.”

Despite the challenges ahead, Campinoti said he looked forward to taking the reins at the 158-year-old company.

“Time and again, the U.S. market has demonstrated a healthy appetite for high-quality, evolving culinary experiences,” he said. “I look forward to leading the iconic brand in the U.S. and sharing its continued innovation with an ever-wider audience.”

According to data from the Argentine Olive Federation shared with Olive Oil Times, the largest producing country outside the Mediterranean basin yielded approximately 35,000 tons of olive oil in 2024 (significantly higher than the preliminary estimate) and a record-high 44,000 tons in 2023 (also higher than initial estimates).

While production varied from region to region, producers in San Juan and La Rioja, responsible for the majority of Argentine olive oil, reported that adverse weather events, including a cold snap in May 2024, damaged trees in the northwestern provinces.

“We recently completed the harvest, and unfortunately, the overall balance was not positive,” said Jeder Aleua, the head of olive oil production at La Rioja-based Fincas de Cruz del Eje. “During the flowering stage, we faced adverse weather conditions such as hail, hot winds and extreme temperatures, which severely affected flower set.”

“The flowers that managed to develop showed good growth, but with low oil content due to the limited temperature range. This translated into an average oil yield of approximately 12 percent, a figure lower than expected,” he added. “Despite this situation, we managed to obtain good quality oil, thanks to meticulous work and care at every stage of the process.”

Additionally, declining olive oil prices at origin in Europe, combined with rising production costs in Argentina and higher table olive prices, led producers to divert dual-purpose varieties to table olives for export.

“There isn’t going to be much oil in Argentina this year,” said Julián Clusellas, the president of La Rioja-based Valle de la Puerta. “The harvest was very short, and almost everything that could be was diverted for table olives.”

He added that in the company’s groves, frosts in May 2024 damaged the buds that later become flowers and then olive drupes, especially in the lower parts of the trees. 

In neighboring San Juan, Solfrut commercial director Guillermo Kemp also confirmed that this year’s harvest would fall short of previous ones. 

“We continue working on short campaigns, and starting earlier and earlier, to avoid climatic factors [such as late autumn frosts] and, of course, to produce the best quality oils that can be obtained,” he said.

Further south in Mendoza, producers reported a better harvest this year than the previous one. 

“On our farm, we had an average harvest. One farm had very good production, while the other was slightly affected by frost,” said Miguel Zuccardi, the head of olive oil production at Familia Zuccardi. 

“We had to start harvesting a little later this year because we had a warm fall and delayed our plans to avoid the high temperatures,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the central province of Córdoba, situated about halfway between Mendoza and Buenos Aires, Sierra Pura president Veronica Ortega said the region experienced a significantly higher harvest than in 2024.

“We recorded a 50 percent increase in harvest volume compared to the 2024 campaign,” she said. “However, some climatic factors, such as the lack of the first cold spells in May and late summer rains, caused a slight delay in the ripening of certain olive varieties, which extended the harvest period into June.”

“Not only did total production increase, but we also managed to harvest varieties such as Frantoio, Farga and Barnea with outstanding organoleptic quality,” she added.

Away from economic issues, Ortega said her main challenge was determining the optimal moment to harvest the olives, striking a delicate balance that maximizes oil yield while preserving the organoleptic characteristics.

“We had to balance the need to start the harvest early—due to the volume of fruit available—with the importance of waiting for the perfect ripening period to obtain an oil with the flavor, aroma and nuances that distinguish us,” she said. “Despite these challenges, the 2025 harvest results are extremely positive.”

Expectations of a lower harvest arise as producers across Argentina face significant economic hardship, driven by rising production costs and lower prices for exports to Europe.

Since President Javier Milei assumed office in December 2023, his administration has slashed government spending in a bid to lower the country’s triple-digit inflation rate and the deficit.

Energy subsidies were among the cuts made by the government, resulting in an increase in electricity and fuel prices.

While producers approved of separate government efforts to loosen restrictions on imports, such as fertilizer and bottles, and the repatriation of foreign currencies, the effects of these measures have been canceled out by the falling prices at origin.

“Olive oil prices at €3,600 per ton are not profitable considering electricity costs [to power irrigation systems] of about $900 (€780) per hectare and an overall operating cost of around $4,000 (€3,500) per hectare,” Clusellas said.

Zuccardi added that prices for electricity and fuel have risen faster than inflation, which continues to decelerate, and government efforts to devalue the Argentine peso from its artificially high rate.

Despite rising costs, some producers said the government’s economic policies have created more certainty. 

“The stability of input prices was a positive factor that allowed us to plan the harvest with greater predictability,” Ortega said. 

Mario Bustos Carra, the director-general of the Mendoza-based Cuyo Chamber of Foreign Trade, added that the changes will be good for producers in the long term, but there will be significant short-term headwinds.

“The first challenge is addressing costs, which are offset by tax pressures, labor costs, high input prices, lack of labor to harvest the crops, etc.,” he said. 

“Furthermore, in olive oil, good European production has contributed to the drop in international prices,” Bustos Carra added. “Since Argentina is not a price-setter, we must adapt to the figures handled by the main producing countries, which have stable economies, strong currencies and, fundamentally, favorable economic policies, including subsidies.”

While challenges mount at home, some producers and exporters agreed that the prevailing trade policy in the United States may provide a competitive advantage for Argentine olive oil in the world’s second-largest olive oil consumer market.

Even as U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced a ten percent tariff on Argentine imports as part of his wider tariff policy, Clusellas said it was business as usual with his American clients.

“I think the situation is going to improve and we will see more demand for Argentine olive oil” in the U.S., Clusellas said.

The Trump administration’s tariff policy has been erratic, but Argentine olive oil exporters have never faced the prospect of more than the “baseline” ten percent tariff. 

Exporters from Tunisia and European Union countries, on the other hand, currently have the same ten percent tariff, but could face significantly higher rates if they cannot reach a deal with the U.S.

Kemp, from Solfrut, confirmed that under the original or revised tariff regimes of 28 percent on Tunisia and 20 to 50 percent on the European Union, Argentine exporters would benefit, but American consumers might not.

“I think [tariffs] make the product more expensive for the U.S. consumer,” he said. “The issue is to see how the final policy looks.”

Similarly to Clusellas, Zuccardi said his company has not felt the impact of the tariffs. He expects that slightly higher prices will not deter most consumers seeking higher-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Bustos Carra said the first signs of changing policy in the U.S. toward Argentina date back to the suspension of the generalized system of preference for certain products, including olive oil, but he is optimistic that Milei’s personal relationship with Trump will result in a deal for Argentina.

“Because our country was the first to request a review of tariffs in response to the new measures adopted, we are optimistic that, both due to political affinity and as a consequence of the unilateral policy pursued by the United States, we may gain some comparative advantages over other countries,” he said.

Aleua added that Fincas de Cruz del Eje was continuing to assess the situation around U.S. tariffs and continuing its efforts to enter new markets.

“When a market closes, new opportunities also open up,” he said. “The Asian market, for example, represents a distant but extremely interesting destination, and that’s where we’re focusing part of our future strategy.”

Turkey exported 64,000 metric tons of table olives valued at $162 (€143) million since October 2024, the start of the crop year. Emre Uygun, the EZZIB chairman, stated that table olive exports by volume and value were 33 percent and 26.5 percent higher, respectively, than in the 2023/24 period.

“We are moving forward with sure steps toward the 100,000 tons of table olive exports and $250 million of foreign exchange income target we set for the 2024/25 season,” Uygun said.

Turkey harvested 750,000 tons of table olives in 2024/25, making it the world’s largest producer by a significant margin. By comparison, International Olive Council data show that the seven table olive-producing members of the European Union yielded 795,000 tons. 

According to the EZZIB, black olive exports increased by 22 percent, surpassing 49,000 tons with a value of $123 million (€109 million). Additionally, green olive exports increased by 46 percent in quantity, reaching 15,000 tons, and by 43 percent in value, to $39 million (€35 million).

Uygun said Germany and Iraq are the leading destinations for black and green olive imports, with Romania cited as the third-largest destination for black olives and the United States named as the third destination for green olives.

While Uygun did not speculate on the impact of the ten percent tariff imposed by the United States on nearly all imports from Turkey, including olive oil and table olives, he pointed out that Turkish producers export olives to 110 countries.

The announcement comes weeks after Turkey confirmed a record-high olive oil yield of 475,000 tons, and plans to focus on exporting to lucrative markets including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and the United States.

Indeed, exporters and officials in Italy, Spain and Tunisia have raised concerns that current and future U.S. tariff regimes may favor Turkish exporters. The U.S. imports approximately 95 percent of the olive oil it consumes, with 90 percent of these imports originating from the European Union.

After U.S. President Donald J. Trump announced tariffs on nearly every country on April 2nd, the ten percent rate on Turkey gave the government a competitive advantage compared to the 28 percent tariff faced by Tunisia and the 20 percent tariff imposed on imports from the E.U.

While nearly all of these tariff rates were later lowered to ten percent to give countries time to negotiate, E.U. officials were rattled last week by renewed threats of a 50 percent tariff.

At the time of the original announcement, Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s finance minister, confirmed that Turkey’s “relatively low tariff rate may provide a comparative advantage in some sectors.”

María Morales, the president of the Seville chapter of the Association of Young Farmers and Ranchers (Asaja-Seville), alluded to this as well.

“Many countries on the other side of the Mediterranean [especially Turkey], our competitors in the U.S., have lower tariffs. So it will be easier for them to export,” she noted.

• Turkish Agrinews
• AP News

Currently, E.U. exports to the U.S., including table olives and olive oil, face a ten percent tariff, down from the original 20 percent tariff announced on April 2nd.

Trump cited trade barriers, Value Added Tax (VAT), corporate taxes and European litigation against U.S. companies as the reasons for more than doubling the originally proposed tariff rate.

European and U.S. officials have acknowledged that the negotiations are currently at an impasse, with both sides adhering to their long-held positions.

If the U.S. were to follow through on its tariff plan, European officials are considering whether to retaliate.

Member states have already voted to approve a 50 percent tariff on €21 billion on some U.S. goods, and the European Commission is also consulting on an additional list of goods valued at €95 billion.

Trump’s announcement came days after the International Olive Council said U.S. olive oil imports had increased by seven percent in the first seven months of the 2024/25 crop year, including a 34 percent increase in February 2025 compared to February 2024.

IOC data show the U.S. imported 99,033 metric tons of olive oil since October, valued at €787 million. 

According to the IOC, the E.U. is the leading exporter of olive oil to the U.S., shipping an average of 252,000 tons annually, which represents more than 90 percent of U.S. olive oil imports.

Overall, the U.S. is Europe’s largest trading partner, accounting for more than 20 percent of goods exported, with a value of €530 billion in 2024.

While many European exporters managed to ship the 2024/25 harvest to the U.S. ahead of the tariffs being announced in April, they are increasingly looking at other markets.

“For the next harvest, we’ll be ready to export to Canada, Germany and South Korea if we cannot bring the product into the U.S. in decent conditions,” said Marie-Charlotte Piro, the co-owner of Tuscany-based Olio Piro.

“Small producers like us cannot be counted on to absorb all the tariff,  and we cannot count on small retailers like our wholesale partners to absorb it,” she added.

However, the well-developed and highly familiar U.S. market, which represents 37 percent of global olive oil imports, will be difficult to replace. 

For comparison, Asia’s largest and wealthiest countries, including China, India, Japan and South Korea, imported less than one-third the amount of olive oil by value as Spain, Italy and Greece exported to the U.S. in 2023.

The potential for new trade barriers comes as the IOC also found that the value of E.U. olive oil exports has fallen significantly, dropping to €647 per 100 kilograms in February 2025, a 32 percent decrease compared to the previous year and 7.5 percent lower than in January.

Lower export prices are largely due to harvest rebounds across the Mediterranean, including Spain, Turkey and Tunisia. According to the IOC, E.U. olive oil exports by volume increased by 21 percent in February 2025 compared to February 2024 and by 12 percent compared to the previous month.

• Financial Times
• International Olive Council

Currently, most goods imported from the European Union, including table olives and olive oil, are subject to a ten percent tariff. 

The levy could increase to 20 percent on July 8th if the two sides do not agree to an extension or reach a deal. European olive oil exporters said this would put them at a competitive disadvantage compared to Turkey and Tunisia. Both countries are expected to continue to have a ten percent tariff on their exports to the U.S.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the United States imported $1.5 billion of olive oil from Italy, Spain and Greece in 2023, the last year for which a complete data set exists. 

Overall, the U.S. imported $2.2 billion of olive oil that year, including $428 million from Turkey and Tunisia.

While European producers have been making inroads in India, China and other regions of Asia for years, Christopher Clague, an independent trade advisor based in Malaysia and associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, believes short-term opportunities are limited.

“Whatever European producers are losing because of the U.S. tariffs, they’re not going to make up with Asia,” Clague told Olive Oil Times. “Despite marketing efforts to push olive oil into new markets, the drop in U.S. demand due to tariffs is too large to offset with incremental gains in Asia.” 

“While Asia presents some potential, olive oil isn’t widely consumed here, making it challenging to establish significant demand,” he added.

According to World Bank data, India, China, Japan and South Korea combined to import $477 million of olive oil in 2023, less than one-third of the value of Spanish, Italian and Greek exports to the U.S. that year.

Clague highlighted how Asian cuisines favor other edible fats, including peanut or soybean oil in China and ghee in India. Even Japan, which has a growing olive oil culture, does not have olive oil integrated into everyday cooking like Western countries.

“Japan’s love for Italian food makes it a stronger market than most, but even here, its aging population increasingly prefers traditional Japanese meals over Western influences,” Clague said. 

“In South Korea, premium olive oils are sometimes seen as luxury goods, but not as widely adopted staples,” he added. “The fragmented demand across Asia means that olive oil exports may rise modestly but will not compensate for the scale of lost U.S. sales.”

In his adopted home of Malaysia, which imported $8 million of olive oil in 2023, Clague said consumption is mainly concentrated in the European immigrant community.

“If you’re a European olive oil producer looking at Malaysia, I’d suspect it’s a losing game,” he said. “There’s nothing here. Locals don’t use olive oil. They use palm oil, sunflower oil and canola oil.” 

“Malaysia reflects broader trends in Asia regarding olive oil consumption,” he added. “The country’s three major ethnic groups—Malay, Chinese and Indian—have distinct culinary traditions that do not commonly include olive oil.” 

While Clague said ethnic Malays are predominantly Muslim and may incorporate some Middle Eastern cuisine, including olive oil, into their diets, this is usually in limited quantities.

“While olive oil is sold in supermarkets, it is primarily for expatriates rather than local consumers,” he said.

Taking a broader perspective, Clague said the conditions that have caused olive oil consumption to rise meteorically in the U.S. over the past three decades have not taken shape in Asia.

“The U.S. market is highly established, and consumers there understand the health benefits and culinary uses of different varieties of olive oil,” he said. “In contrast, Asia’s adoption of olive oil remains slow, lacking the same embedded cultural preference for Mediterranean flavors.”

“There’s no natural outlet for the excess capacity, and [European] producers may indeed scramble to find alternative buyers,” Clague added. “They could maybe turn to Africa, but consumers there largely prefer palm and vegetable oils, while if they were to go for Australia, its small population makes it incapable of absorbing large volumes of exports.”

He suggested that lower European olive oil export prices may stimulate some demand in alternative markets.

“However, price cuts alone may not be enough to drive significant increases in Asian consumption, as cultural food preferences remain the primary barrier,” Clague concluded. “Even in Japan, where Mediterranean cuisine is relatively popular, premium olive oil brands tend to compete in the luxury segment rather than aiming for mass-market sales.”

• Financial Times

However, officials and companies remain bullish about the outlook for the olive oil market in India, the world’s most populous country.

According to market research from the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), olive oil sales by value have steadily increased, rising from €99 million in 2018 to €164 million in 2024. ICEX further projects sales to reach €198 million by 2028.

“Over the past decade, the olive oil market in India has seen consistent high single-digit growth, driven by increasing acceptance and use in Indian cooking,” Siladitya Sarangi, country manager for India at Deoleo, the world’s largest olive oil bottler, which has been present on the subcontinent for more than 60 years, told Olive Oil Times in an email. 

“This shift has been particularly noticeable in the consumption of lighter-flavored olive oil variants, such as extra light, which better suit local cooking methods,” he added. “Moreover, India has proven to be a learning market, where Deoleo explores diverse uses of olive oil.”

Deoleo’s Figaro and Bertolli brands are two of India’s top ten olive oil brands by market share. Fellow Spanish bottlers Borges and Rafael Salgado are also in the top ten. Spanish olive oil dominates the market, making up 82 percent of imports by volume in 2023. 

However, companies face significant hurdles in India, including household penetration outside major cities and high tariffs. 

World Bank data show that after meteoric growth, with import volumes rising from 45,000 kilograms in 2003 to nearly 1.9 million kilograms in 2012, imports have remained relatively flat, exceeding two million kilograms in 2020 and falling to 1.7 million in 2023.

“The main barrier continues to be the price, as olive oil is generally more expensive than other edible oils,” Sarangi said. 

Virgin and extra virgin olive oil are subject to a 45 percent basic duty and a five percent integrated goods and service tax, a tariff on goods moving internally in India. 

ICEX estimated that the average price of a liter of olive oil in India is about €13. Olive oil represents four percent of total edible oil consumption.

“The 45 percent basic duty does impact the price competitiveness of olive oil compared to other edible oils,” Sarangi confirmed. 

“However, in June 2022, the European Union and India resumed discussions on a long-awaited free trade agreement, which could lead to a reduction in these tariffs,” he added. “This would certainly have a positive impact on the competitiveness of olive oil prices, encouraging higher consumption in the country.”

Along with tariffs, the olive oil industry sometimes struggles to incorporate olive oil into the country’s many traditional cuisines, and there is misinformation. 

“There is a perception that olive oil is not suitable for Indian cooking, especially when it comes to cooking at high temperatures,” Sarangi said.

However, the company noted that rising interest in international food culture is helping to fuel demand for olive oil.

“While olive oil is not traditionally part of Indian cuisine, we are witnessing significant growth in its interest and usage,” Sarangi said. 

“This is not only because Indian consumers are embracing international cuisines but also because they are starting to incorporate olive oil into local dishes, seeking healthier options without altering the authentic taste of their food,” he added. 

Walter Zanre, the managing director of Filippo Berio UK, agreed that olive oil is more compatible with Indian cuisines than with other food cultures in Southeast and East Asia.

“ I see more opportunity in India [than in China] because culturally there’s more understanding of the use of olive oil in cooking. They’re that much closer to the West in that respect,” he said.

While Filippo Berio is not widely sold in India, Zanre said the brand is recognizable in some cities due to India’s large diaspora population in the United Kingdom.

The ICEX report cited the emergence of a middle class in India with disposable income and growing consciousness around healthy eating as reasons for optimism.

“Demand is fueled by the upper class and the working, urbanized middle classes, who are increasingly concerned about a healthy diet and are beginning to introduce olive oil into their diets,” the institute wrote.

Indeed, Deoleo confirmed that much of its growth in India has been centred on Mumbai and Delhi, with increasing sales in smaller cities as well. 

“While major cities remain the primary drivers of the olive oil market in India, we have seen significantly higher growth in other secondary cities, due to the economic expansion the country is experiencing,” Sarangi said. 

“This trend reflects a geographic diversification in consumption as improvements in infrastructure and growing purchasing power in these areas foster a higher demand for products like olive oil,” he added.

To succeed in India, the ICEX report said Spanish olive oil importers must develop local logistics infrastructure and focus on expanding distribution away from supermarkets and large retailers to retail stores and kirana.

ICEX also identified online sales and the hospitality and restaurant sector, responsible for 40 percent of edible oil purchases in India, as significant sources of opportunity.

Deoleo, for its part, said the company currently manages manufacturing, distribution and marketing activities through its subsidiary in India. 

“In 2018, the company centralized its operations in the country to capitalize on the growing olive oil consumption, which is considered a priority market for the group,” Sarangi said.

“India has become a key market for exploring new consumption opportunities,” he concluded. “We now possess a total of four warehouses at strategic points in the country: Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore.”

The brand, led by siblings Romain and Marie-Charlotte Piro, recently earned its sixth consecutive Gold Award at the 2025 NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition for its early-harvest blend of Leccino, Moraiolo, Frantoio and Olivastra Seggianese olives.

“Winning at the NYIOOC is validation,” Marie-Charlotte said. “It means that we are on the right path, and people get it.”

“ The award pays back all the hard work, so it’s a very satisfying feeling,” Romain added.

Founded in 2020, Olio Piro merges Romain’s two-decade passion for high-quality olive oil production with Marie-Charlotte’s background in luxury marketing. The result is an extra virgin olive oil that emphasizes quality and aesthetics, down to its minimalist label.

“ I ended up in Tuscany in 2002, discovered high-quality local olive oil in 2005, and bought my first olive grove in 2008,” Romain said.

He quickly became enamored with the product and immersed himself in the world of high-quality production.

“I was completely addicted to the technology, the techniques, the rules to respect and the elders teaching you what to do, what not to do and how to do it,” Piro said.

Part of what helps Olio Piro stand out is Romain’s careful attention in the mill, including adjusting aspects of milling, malaxing and centrifuging for every batch. “You have to change the setup to get the best out of each variety,” he said.

Over time, Romain started to see very good results from his milling and began selling his small-scale extra virgin olive oil, less than 1,000 bottles, door-to-door at restaurants, including Michelin-starred ones, in Paris.

When Romain started producing olive oil, he was already focused on harvesting green olives in October and November, sacrificing yield for more potent flavors and aromas, a practice that was not widely adopted at the time.

“It was the beginning, when people started to realize that extra virgin olive oil was more like an ingredient to use in the kitchen, in your cooking, and more than just something you leave on the table to put few drops at the end for maybe not such a good experience,” Romain said. 

“We were at the crossroads between a simple product and a very elaborate, very high-quality product,” he added, drawing parallels between increasing fine wine production and appreciation.

Heading into 2018, however, Romain wanted to increase his market penetration in the United States. He eventually convinced his sister, Marie-Charlotte, who previously worked in marketing in the U.S., to join.

“ I needed help with all the marketing and distribution,” Romain said. “ I know my skills, and they were not all the required ones. But  I knew my sister had those skills, so I was pushing her to join.”

He eventually succeeded with Marie-Charlotte joining in 2020 to develop a new brand, Olio Piro.

“I had a career in luxury sales and marketing,” Marie-Charlotte said. “ I worked with luxury products. I know the luxury marketing and sales techniques.”

As a result, the Piro siblings decided to position Olio Piro as a luxury product, starting with the label. 

“The olive oil has to smell and taste perfect. It has to respond perfectly to the lab analysis,” Romain said. “But the bottle also has to look good.”

One item notably absent from the label is the depiction of olives or an olive tree. “Extra virgin olive oil is written on the label, so we don’t need to show an olive tree, an olive leaf or an olive,” Romain said.

“The gold leaf label hasn’t changed,” Marie-Charlotte added. “We love the classic black text with large amounts of white space and embossed logo. It’s a luxury look.”

She clarified that when she refers to luxury, she does not mean high retail prices for the sake of being expensive.

“ We cater to an audience that we are creating year after year; people who didn’t realize that they are not only foodies, but they understand the true sense of luxury,” Marie-Charlotte said. 

“I’m not talking about money or having a high disposable income,” she added. “I’m talking about owning a product that makes you feel good, literally.”

While Romain sold almost all of his extra virgin olive oil in France before rebranding as Olio Piro, the company now sells almost exclusively in the U.S. 

However, the recently announced ten percent baseline tariff on all imports ot the U.S., combined with the potential for these to rise to 20 percent tariffs later in the year, has resulted in the company seeking out new markets.

 ”We exported 100 percent of our production to the U.S. before 2025,” Marie-Charlotte said. “This year, we exported 95 percent to the U.S. and are also selling in the United Kingdom and South Korea. We will also be selling in Germany and Canada next year.”

“ The U.S. is still by far our largest export now,” she added. “But we also decided this year to accelerate our global expansion,” due to the uncertainty around U.S. tariffs.

Due to the early harvest, Olio Piro has already exported all of its extra virgin olive oil produced in the 2024/25 crop year to the U.S., so its prices will not be affected this year. 

“Let’s see what next year brings,” Marie-Charlotte said. “For the next harvest, we’ll be ready to export to Canada, Germany and South Korea if we cannot bring the product into the U.S. in decent conditions. Small producers like us cannot be counted on to absorb all the tariff,  and we cannot count on small retailers like our wholesale partners to absorb it.”

The uncertainty created by U.S. tariffs comes after a successful albeit unusual harvest in the mountainous southern Tuscan region of Maremma.

“2024 was a very different year from the others because the harvest started quite late,” Marie-Charlotte said.

Romain added that the harvest did not start until October 20th. While he emphasized that every year is different, the early harvest usually gets underway between late September and early October.

“ This year we started quite late, the fruit ripened quite late, and we always harvest at the peak of maturity,” he said. “It was very dry until the end of September, and then it started to rain. You can’t harvest right after the rain. You need to wait for the fruit to dry.”

“ It was a little tricky…  because there was too much water inside the olive, which means you have to work a bit harder in the mill,” Romain added. “But the quality was still there, and it was very high.”

However, these conditions may also have resulted in oil yields being considerably lower than in previous years, a phenomenon experienced by producers across Italy.

“For the first two or three weeks, we got between eight and ten percent. This is crazy low,” Romain said. “Of course, after one month, the fruit is a little more ripe and the water has dried up, so we ended up with around 15 or 16 percent when sometimes we finish production at around 20 percent.”

However, Romain’s instincts were vindicated by the World Competition analysis team. Part of what helped the brand stand out was the inclusion of the endemic Olivastra Seggianese olive, the 300-year-old trees from which the olives are harvested, and the region’s unique cultivation method.

“It’s a very old Tuscan technique, grafting trees with other varieties that has been done for generations,” Marie-Charlotte said. “A lot of trees in the region are grafted with the three Tuscan olives; they have Leccino, Moraiolo and Frantoio olives on one tree. In that way, our blend is made in the grove.”

Planas underlined that Madrid has already drafted a detailed economic support plan worth €14.32 billion to mitigate the effects following the initial announcement of the tariffs.

He acknowledged the uncertainty created by the announcement of 20 percent tariffs on April 2nd, which was followed a week later by the temporary application of a ten percent tariff lasting 90 days.

“As a government, we are working to provide direction and certainty,” he said, emphasizing close collaboration with European Union partners to strengthen resilience and empower negotiations with the U.S.

Interestingly, Planas cited the E.U.-Mercosur agreement as an example of market diversification and expansion opportunities for agri-food producers.

The E.U.‘s free-trade agreement with Mercosur is gaining traction across Europe following the announcement of new U.S. tariffs.

According to Planas, crucial Spanish export sectors, such as olive oil and wine, would greatly benefit if E.U. members approved the comprehensive trade agreement with Latin American partners.

However, Rafael Pico, the executive director of the Spanish olive oil industry and export association Asoliva, recently told RTVE that the E.U.-Mercosur agreement would only allow a gradual reduction of tariffs over a 15-year period.

“The Mercosur market is important, but it’s nothing like the United States, neither in terms of volumes nor purchasing power,” he said.

“Per capita income in the United States supports olive oil imports. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for South American countries. There is no viable alternative to the U.S. market,” Pico added.

Regarding overall agri-food exports, Spain’s exposure to the U.S. market is relatively limited.

In 2024, exports to the United States accounted for 4.8 percent of Spain’s total agri-food exports, totaling approximately €4 billion.

By comparison, Spanish agri-food producers exported significantly more to France in 2024: €11.5 billion, which accounts for 15.3 percent of total agri-food exports.

In this context, olive oil represents about 28 percent of all Spanish agri-food exports to the United States.

When it comes to olive oil specifically, the volume of Spanish exports to the United States ranks second only to shipments sent to Italy.

In 2023, Spain’s Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) in New York estimated that Spanish olive oil shipments represented approximately 41 percent of total U.S. olive oil imports.

According to European Union figures, Spain exported more than 118,000 metric tons of olive oil directly to the U.S. in the 2023/24 crop year.

This figure is expected to increase considerably in the current season due to greater availability and lower prices.

Still, these volumes account only for direct shipments from Spain to the U.S. and do not include Spanish olive oil reaching the U.S. via other countries.

In the 2021/22 crop year, direct exports of Spanish olive oil to the U.S. exceeded 160,000 tons.

“The new tariffs imposed by the United States are unlikely to have any significant impact on the Spanish olive oil sector,” Juan Vilar, a strategic consultant for the olive oil sector, told Olive Oil Times.

According to Vilar, there are several relevant trends to consider, primarily the declining olive oil prices.

“We are at the beginning of a cycle where production exceeds demand. As a result, prices are gradually falling,” he said.

This trend means that Spanish olive oil will become cheaper on the U.S. market.

“American consumers who were paying up to $22 per liter of olive oil over the past two years will now pay perhaps around $17,” Vilar said.

“They will not significantly feel the impact of the tariffs. Ultimately, consumers will still buy olive oil at lower prices than before, even with the full tariff applied,” he added.

According to Vilar, olive oil tariffs should be removed altogether.

“Olive oil is not strategically important for the United States. It is more about consumption, which has grown significantly over recent decades,” he explained.

According to the International Olive Council (IOC), U.S. olive oil consumption in the current season could approach 400,000 tons, surpassing Italy (395,000 tons) and nearing Spain’s consumption (460,000 tons).

“American domestic olive oil production covers only a fraction of this demand, making the U.S. market very attractive for Spanish producers,” Vilar added.

The IOC estimates that U.S. companies produced approximately 13,000 tons annually over the past five years on average.

“Spain is by far the largest olive oil producer in the world. Let’s also consider other EU producers and exporters, such as Italy and Greece, which are major exporters to the U.S. The E.U. will inevitably remain the most important olive oil trading partner for the United States,” Vilar said.

“In such a scenario, the first to bear the cost of tariffs will be U.S. import companies, followed by U.S. consumers, and eventually smaller Spanish exporters lacking bottling facilities in the U.S.,” he added.

Uncertainties remain not only about the tariffs but also regarding their scope. During the previous Trump administration, Spanish bottled olive oil was subject to a 25-percent tariff, while bulk shipments remained unaffected.

“That situation prompted large Spanish producers to establish bottling facilities in the United States,” Vilar noted.

Luis Carlos Valero, manager and spokesperson for the farming association ASAJA Jaén, warned of potential consequences if tariffs were applied to bulk shipments as well.

“If Trump also includes bulk olive oil, he would be shooting himself in the foot, as the entire distribution and bottling industry is located in the United States,” Valero stated.

Vilar explained that of approximately 130,000 tons of olive oil Spain could export to the United States, only around 25,000 tons would be bottled, with the rest shipped in bulk.

Most bottled products would originate from smaller producers without existing bottling facilities in the U.S.

“We need to understand the situation clearly. We are at the start of a new Trump era. Right now, the best move is not to move at all,” Vilar concluded.

Since April 9th, however, the so-called “reciprocal” tariffs have been suspended for 90 days.

The minimum ten percent tariff rate is still in place for products entering the U.S. from nearly every country, including E.U. member states.

“The U.S. market is the top export destination of Greek bottled olive oil, along with Germany,” Yiorgos Mitrakos, the director of Sevitel, the association of Greek olive oil bottlers, told Olive Oil Times.

“The tariffs, if and when they come into force, will mean that olive oil exporters from other countries, such as Turkey, which are hit with only a ten-percent import tariff, could seize the opportunity to increase their share in the American market.”

Mitrakos added that, even if the Trump administration reinstates the 20 percent tariffs on E.U. products, American consumers who want to purchase Greek bottled olive oil will still pay less than they did last year, since prices have decreased this year.

“Nevertheless, there is always a window for negotiations to abolish the tariffs for Greek bottled olive oil, as happened in 2019,” Mitrakos noted.

Meanwhile, officials in Greece, including Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, have dismissed the American tariffs imposed on European and Greek products as “illogical.”

“Greece insists that we have a unified response so that we can be effective as a group of 27 [E.U. member states],” Mitsotakis said in a cabinet meeting. “In any case, we will fight to defend our national interests.”

Tariffs are essentially taxes on imports of products, which are usually passed on to end consumers in low-margin industries as a percentage of a product’s value. 

The 20 percent tariff imposed on olive oil from European producers means that a bottle of extra virgin olive oil sold for $20 in American supermarkets would have a $4 tax on top, bringing the cost to $24.

The Greek table olive sector is also in turmoil after President Trump announced the tariff scheme on E.U. products on April 2nd.

Table olives are the flagship product among all Greek agricultural exports to the United States. In value terms, they account for 27.4 percent of all Greek food and beverage exports to the U.S.

According to Doepel, the Greek interprofessional association of table olives, the 20 percent tariffs slapped on European products imported to the U.S. could favor table olives producers based in countries that are burdened with lower tariffs.

“The increase in the price of the product due to the tariffs and the comparative advantage of other olive-producing countries, such as Egypt, Turkey, Morocco and Latin America that are subject to ten percent tariffs will affect the competitiveness of Greek table olives in the U.S. and, by extension, of our industry,” the interprofessional wrote in a letter to Olive OIl Times.

“The need for diplomatic intervention and support is imperative for the protection of Greek exports and the sustainability of the sector,” the association added.

Greece is also the second-largest supplier of table olives to the United States after Spain. In 2024, table olive exports from Greece to the U.S. reached €214 million, a 39 percent increase compared to 2023.

“The American market is the largest for Greek olives, absorbing 30 percent of the country’s table olive exports,” said Kostas Zoukas, head of the Greek Association of Manufacturers, Packers and Exporters of Table Olives (PEMETE). “Losing the U.S. market would be irreplaceable for the industry.”

Located near the city of Volos in central Greece, Siouras has exported Greek Kalamon and Chalkidiki olives to various countries, including the United States, since the 1930s.

Owner Haris Siouras said that the Greek olive sector is in limbo after the tariffs were announced on the other side of the Atlantic.

“A ten-percent tariff on our olives is not negligible, let alone a 20-percent added tax,” Siouras said. “For the time being, however, most of our orders from the U.S. are being processed as per normal.”

“The Kalamon olives we ship to the United States are not produced there, so thrusting any tariffs on them has no real meaning,” he added.

Siouras also said that table olives have not yet become an essential food for Americans, and the shrinking budget of American households is a significant factor to consider.

“Despite the fact that Americans are now more keen on adopting a healthier diet, they are likely to reduce how much they spend on table olives if they cost more,” he said.

“In any case, as soon as the tariffs were announced, our sector started to look into ways for Greek olives to be exempted from the Trump tariffs,” Siouras concluded. “But we will have to wait until July when the 90-day tariff pause expires for any definitive results.”

• Kathimerini
• Elaias Karpos

The goal is to avoid a 28 percent tariff on all Tunisian exports to the U.S., which were delayed 90 days earlier this month and replaced with a baseline ten percent tariff.

Marouane Ben Jomaa, president of the Tunisian-American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed the ongoing negotiations. 

In his view, the potential application of a 28 percent levy “risks compromising the competitiveness of key sectors such as olive oil, dates and handcrafts.”

Ben Jomaa also noted how different tariffs applied to competing countries would contribute to jeopardizing Tunisian market quotas in the U.S.

While suspended, the tariff scheme President Donald J. Trump previously announced would see E.U. members facing 20 percent tariffs, with olive oil producers from Turkey, Morocco, and Algeria hit with a ten percent duty.

According to United Nations data, in 2023, direct exports of olive oil from Tunisia to the U.S. slightly exceeded $220 (€203) million.

Former Trade Minister Mohsen Hassan noted that the country’s exports benefited over the years from the U.S. Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which aims to promote economic growth in developing countries by allowing specific volumes of duty-free trade.

According to Hassan, GSP helped Tunisia grow its exports to the U.S., primarily driven by olive oil and dates.

“Imposing a 28 percent tariff on Tunisian goods exported to the U.S. market would limit their competitiveness and create obstacles to their access to one of the most important global markets that Tunisian exporters have worked on in recent years,” he said.

If the tariff agenda does not change in the next three months, the baseline tariffs could also have consequences for Tunisian exports to the U.S. that do not happen directly between the two countries.

“The U.S. is the biggest importer of Tunisian olive oil, both directly and indirectly. What goes in indirectly is more than what goes there directly from Tunisia,” Wajih Rekik, the chief executive of CHO America, the U.S. branch of the largest Tunisian olive oil bottler and exporter, told Olive Oil Times.

The complexities of the olive oil trade between Tunisia and other large producer countries, which are also exporters to the U.S., intertwine with the tariffs that could potentially hit countries to different extents.

“When shipments go to the U.S. from Tunisia, that is a very obvious transaction. But volumes twice as large go to Spain, and from there they are shipped, or re-exported, to the United States,” Rekik said.

“Twenty-eight percent tariffs could have made some damage,” he added. “As everyone is now subject to the same ten percent tariffs, the whole issue is currently way more manageable.” 

The CHO America executive referred to olive oil market dynamics in the United States, which show only a minimal impact from higher prices in the last two years.

“The consumption remained strong even during shortage, with 30 to 40 percent higher prices,” Rekik said.

“Now prices are down, they dropped significantly, that means that the prices for the consumers will still be lower than in the past, even with a ten percent tariff,” he added.

Tunisian olive oil exports to the U.S. in the same period of the current year decreased in value by 26.8 percent compared to the first four months of 2024, primarily due to lower olive oil prices at origin.

Olive Oil Times reached out to some Tunisian producers, who did not comment on the quickly changing scenario but confirmed that the high level of uncertainty does not help sustain their businesses.

Reda Al-Shakandali, professor of economics at the University of Carthage, told local media that the temporary suspension of tariffs creates uncertainty that disrupts the global economy.

According to the professor, Tunisia’s economy is fragile and heavily reliant on tourism, olive oil and fertilizers, with remittances from Tunisians abroad playing a significant role.

In his view, the consequences of the tariffs and the uncertainty will impair investments.

Even amidst such uncertainty, Tunisian olive oil exporters and diplomats hope for negotiations to defuse the threatened tariff spike and consider the whole olive oil trade differently.

“Olive oil is a healthy product. Science tells us that it reduces the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and much more. In a way, olive oil is a medicine for the American consumer,” Rekik said.

“We also know that the Trump administration does not favor seed oils. And olive oil is the healthiest alternative out there,” he added.

“As the United States produces only a fraction of the extra virgin olive oil it consumes, I believe that if there is any product that could benefit from an exception, it should be olive oil,” Rekik continued.

According to Rekik, U.S. consumers could do without several food products imported in significant quantities.

“Look at European wine. There are a lot of wines being produced in the U.S. And that is not the healthiest thing out there in terms of heart or brain health,” he said.

“That is why I am hopeful that, within that logic, the Trump administration would consider exceptions on certain products, and olive oil will be a big one there,” Rekik underlined.

While Tunisia exports a broad range of goods and services to the U.S., animal and vegetable fats such as olive oil produce the most significant numbers.

Agriculture has contributed strongly to Tunisian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in recent years.

According to the latest data from the Tunisian General Labour Union, almost 87 percent of the country’s informal workers are employed in agriculture.

The informal economy includes all activities not regulated or monitored by the government and accounts for 30 to 40 percent of the country’s GDP.

Local companies are at work defining possible scenarios while negotiations begin.

“I know lots of companies are working on short-term solutions, like bringing more inventory to the U.S., but those are short-term initiatives,” Rekik said.

“What is going to matter now is what will remain long-term,” he concluded. “Is this [tariff change] a real long-term change destined to impact market dynamics, or is it just short-term?”

• Agenzia Nova
• Tel Expresse
• Mosaique FM

President Trump campaigned for a second term saying that “tariff” was the most beautiful word in the English language, so it was easy to predict that tariffs would be a hallmark of this administration.

But they may not be so beautiful for the millions of Americans who love and rely on olive oil.

Olive oil is an essential, nutritious food. It’s the healthiest cooking oil people can use. And the United States cannot meet more than 2% of domestic demand. Since American olive trees don’t have a magic switch to supercharge production, tariffs would only hurt American consumers by driving up prices.

That’s the message the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) has been conveying to policymakers and federal agencies since early this year. We aim to show leaders in Washington, D.C. that tariffs on olive oil would essentially be a tax on the health of the American people.

We are optimistic that olive oil has some natural allies in this administration. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), led by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) caucus in Congress have made nutrition a major focus.

Senator Roger Marshall, M.D, a founder of the MAHA caucus, gave an interview in which he effectively articulated a strong science-based case against tariffs on healthy foods like olive oil for which there is no adequate domestic supply:

“About 70% of your health outcomes are determined by you,” the Senator said. “It’s determined by what you eat and what you’re surrounded by. By the time you come to my office as a doctor, I can impact maybe 10 or 20% of your health outcomes…we need to make these healthy foods affordable, available as well…”

Unfortunately, we know what happens when olive oil becomes more expensive. Over the past two years, poor harvests have resulted in much higher retail prices, including a 25% average increase in 2024 alone. As a result, two million fewer American households bought olive oil in 2024 than in 2023.

While that’s terrible news for the olive oil category, the data show that virtually all families who stopped buying earned less than $100,000 annually. The most significant drop came in families earning $40,000-$49,000 annually.

It’s easy to predict that tariffs would similarly harm lower-income families most of all. Sadly, these Americans would benefit the most from better dietary options to improve their health outcomes, but for whom even the least expensive olive oil will become unaffordable.

Increasing U.S. production is often an important and worthy goal of tariff policies, but in the case of olive oil, current domestic production is tiny relative to consumption, and appreciably increasing it can’t and won’t happen for the foreseeable future without policies supporting more investment. Olive trees take time to grow, and the investment needed is significant.

These are all topics that were covered at a recent event, “Drops of Health,” that the NAOOA co-hosted with the Olive Oil World Congress (OOWC) in Washington, D.C. Held one week before President Trump’s April 2, 2025, tariff announcement, Drops of Health attracted a lot of interest among Hill staffers, federal agency personnel and media.

Coupled with NAOOA’s broader outreach efforts, the OOWC event provided a platform to educate lawmakers and policymakers about olive oil and how it’s consumed and produced in this country. Indeed, Congressman Deluzio attended and spoke about how his ethnic heritage helped instill his deep respect for olive oil.

Representative Deluzio’s comments echoed sentiments we heard from other members of congress and their staff from both sides of the aisle in meetings this year trying to cultivate champions for olive oil issues in general, including our pending petitions for a standard of identity and an ag-product promotion program, which are before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Department of Agriculture respectively. Both of these initiatives should resonate with the MAHA agenda, as should avoiding tariffs on healthy foods for which there is no adequate domestic supply.

Anyone’s guess is where the tariff saga will go from here. Yesterday, the President announced a 90-day pause that effectively reduces the tariffs to 10% for now. What is clear, however, is that our industry must continue to promote our tried-and-true health message to leaders in Washington, D.C.

Through that effort, we can and will demonstrate how important it is to keep this essential, healthy food affordable and accessible to all Americans.

Joseph R. Profaci is executive director of the North American Olive Oil Association

About one week after it announced sweeping reciprocal tariffs on nearly every country, President Donald J. Trump announced a 90-day pause to these tariffs, opting to keep a base rate of ten percent in place instead.

Organizers, including the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA), said the event is part of an ongoing effort to lobby for olive oil’s exemption from any tariff regime.

“The event focused on the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil and strategies to promote its use among Americans,” Joseph R. Profaci, the NAOOA’s executive director, told Olive Oil Times. 

“It wasn’t about tariffs, and we didn’t talk about tariffs directly,” he added. “But we did discuss the two reasons why olive oil should be exempted.”

The first reason is the uniquely healthy profile of extra virgin olive oil, supported by decades of scientific research. “The second reason is that the U.S. doesn’t produce enough olive oil,” Profaci said. 

Over the past 30 years, extra virgin olive oil consumption has tripled in the United States.

However, U.S. producers lament insufficient awareness about olive oil’s health benefits. 

According to estimates from the International Olive Council (IOC), the U.S. is expected to consume 398,000 metric tons of olive oil during the 2024/25 crop year, surpassing Italy’s estimated 395,000 tons. Globally, only Spain is projected to consume more, at 460,000 tons. 

IOC data show that in 2014/15, U.S. olive oil consumption reached 295,000 tons, compared to slightly more than 115,000 tons in 1994/1995. 

“Despite fluctuations in recent years, U.S. production never exceeded 15,000 tons per year,” Profaci emphasized, highlighting the vast gap between domestic production and demand. 

Around half of U.S. olive oil consumption occurs on the East Coast, with most production concentrated in California, where sustained periods of drought and production costs have hampered producers.

“Olive oil is a cornerstone of the Mediterranean diet. Even modest increases in its use by Americans could significantly impact public health,” Profaci said. 

“For example, research found that even a 20 percent increase in adherence to the Mediterranean diet would save the American healthcare system $20 (€17.7) billion annually,” he added. 

However, tariffs are expected to drive olive oil prices higher for American consumers. 

“That worries me because tariffs risk depriving those who most need access to this healthy product,” Profaci said. “We know from recent experience what happens when prices rise. In 2024, two million fewer American households purchased olive oil compared to 2023.” 

“Upon closer examination, nearly all those households had annual incomes under $100,000 (€88,400),” he added. “Unfortunately, lower-income families, who likely benefit the most from improved diets and health outcomes, will suffer disproportionately from these tariffs.” 

Obesity rates are notably higher among lower-income populations. Citing recent research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Profaci highlighted olive oil’s potential as a healthier replacement for commonly used fats. 

“One of the most interesting recent studies found that amid America’s obesity crisis, olive oil consumption is inversely associated with weight gain, unlike other fats, including vegetable oils,” Profaci said. 

This evidence is among the reasons motivating producers and stakeholders to engage policymakers actively.

During the Washington, D.C., event, a roundtable with Dani Neirenberg of Food Tank discussed strategies for increasing domestic olive oil production. Participants agreed that education is key. 

“We need to educate consumers to drive demand, farmers to recognize the economic and market potential in olive cultivation and policymakers to understand the long-term benefits of promoting olive oil production in the U.S.,” Profaci said. 

According to Profaci, the current tariffs negatively affect the industry’s present and future.

“They interrupt a trend of consumers moving away from seed oils toward olive oil,” he warned. “Consumers typically begin with basic olive oil products, become educated, and gradually choose higher-quality olive oils over time.” 

Profaci noted that this beneficial cycle helped maintain overall consumption levels despite recent shortages and a 25 percent price increase. 

“By interrupting the entryway here, it’s a problem for the industry in the long term,” Profaci added. 

At the Washington event, an olive oil producer suggested that tariffs might benefit producers by raising prices. Profaci disagreed. 

“In the end, it hurts us because our growth depends on expanding the consumer base. Higher prices mean fewer potential lifelong customers,” he said. 

The event, co-organized by NAOOA, also aimed to secure support for producers’ applications regarding establishing a standard of identity and an ag-product promotion group through a research and promotion order. 

“Olive oil is good for our health and as a sustainable product, the health of our planet. Two factors that should be on the top of policymakers’ priority list,” Profaci concluded.

The tariffs include a 20 percent duty on imports from all European Union countries, including Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal.

U.S.-based producers, importers, and European experts have predicted that the tariffs would make olive oil a lot more expensive, leading to a pullback in consumption in favor of cheaper, less healthy seed oils.

Other olive oil-producing countries, including Argentina, Algeria, Chile, Morocco, Turkey and Uruguay, face the baseline 10 percent tariff applied to nearly all other countries.

Meanwhile, imports from Tunisia will face a 28 percent tariff, South African exports to the U.S. will be subject to a steep 31 percent tariff, and Israeli exports will incur a 17 percent tariff.

“They [the Trump administration] basically took each country’s trade balance with the United States, divided by the amount of their imports and cut that in half,” Krugman said. “It was a kind of weird calculation.”

According to data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the most recent complete dataset available, in 2023, the U.S. imported $713 (€693) million of olive oil from Spain. 

Separate data from Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food show that olive oil exports to the U.S. increased by 57.7 percent last year, exceeding $1 billion (€920 million). 

The world’s second largest consumer of olive oil also imported $707 (€653) million from Italy, $216 (€200) million from Tunisia, $213 (€197) million from Turkey, $101 (€93) million from Greece and $230 (€213) million from other countries.

Currently, U.S. local olive oil production accounts for less than five percent of the current level of consumption, which has grown exponentially across the last decades.

After the Trump administration’s announcement, Dcoop noted that the new tariffs “harm international trade and end up affecting the entire chain, from ranchers and farmers to the consumer (in this case, the American consumer), who is the final link that ends up assuming the increase in costs.”

According to the world’s largest producer, olive oil that will not reach the United States because of the tariffs will be sold in other markets. It warned that more competition could ensue and prices could decrease, hurting the production chain.

Institutions in Andalusia, Spain’s heart of olive oil production, are gearing up to cope with the new tariffs. 

The goal is to unite the agricultural sectors and look for more promising markets as the U.S. may become less appealing.

The regional government’s initiatives also intend to monitor the impact that a more extensive availability of agricultural products, such as olive oil, on the national and European markets might have on prices and margins for the production chains involved.

In 2024, Andalusia alone exported €860 million ($945 million) of extra virgin olive oil to the United States.

María Morales, the president of the farming organization Asaja-Sevilla, warned that different tariffs imposed on the Mediterranean banks may cause further imbalance.

“Many countries on the other side of the Mediterranean [especially Turkey], our competitors in the U.S., have lower tariffs. So it will be easier for them to export,” she noted.

Record olive oil production reported in Turkey, combined with lower tariffs, makes the country an ideal candidate for increasing exports to the United States.

Currently, Turkish exports to Spain slightly exceed those to the United States. As tariffs turn the tables, volumes could quickly shift.

The Spanish government has already announced compensation for up to $15.7 (€14.4) billion to help the country’s companies cope with the shock. This safety net will be extended to all major economic sectors hit by the new tariffs.

Those same tariffs are worrying the Italian olive oil sector as well. Many Italian olive oil exports are destined for the United States, reaching approximately 100,000 tons.

“The U.S. is the number one export market for Italian extra virgin olive oil,” said Nicola Ruggiero, president of the Oliveti d’Italia Consortium. “Of the €3 billion ($3.3 billion) in exports in 2024, about €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) comes from trade with America.”

According to Ruggiero, with the new tariffs, a slowdown can be expected “in the short-term, but we don’t yet know how American consumers will react. Many buy extra virgin olive oil for health reasons,” he remarked.

Still, in a note, the Italian Trade Agency (ICE), an Italian governmental agency, warned operators that many uncertainties loom on several sectors as April 9th approaches, the day the tariffs should come into force.

According to ICE, tariff exclusion mechanisms might be activated for individual companies or products when the imported goods are not domestically available in the United States.

While the tariffs will come into force too quickly for companies to build new factories in the U.S., some large international bottlers have been investigating potential solutions.

“ We’ve been investigating if there’s the opportunity to work with somebody [to co-pack in the U.S.] because we’re not going to be able to build a factory in America in time,” Walter Zanre, the managing director of Filippo Berio UK, told Olive Oil Times in an interview two weeks before the tariffs were announced.

“Perversely, President Trump is right because [tariffs mean] we are going to have to bottle in the United States and create jobs in America, and we’re probably going to have to let people go in Italy because we’re reducing production there,” he added. “So he achieves his goal of moving employment from outside of America into America.”

Another major European olive oil producer, Greece, exports about 20,000 tons of extra virgin olive oil annually to the United States.

In Greece, olive oil producers are asking the Ministry of Development for protection from the consequences of the new tariffs, which are not easy to foresee.

“We are clearly concerned about the developments,” said Dimitris Evangelinos, a spokesman for the Agricultural Cooperative of Organic Olive Producers of Olynthos, in northern Greece.

“The 20 percent tariffs that were announced will certainly result in the product on the supermarket shelf being more expensive,” he added.

He believes the new conditions will pressure the profit chain and farmers. “All of this while the cost of production has made the sustainability of the profession more difficult, and we also have climate change that affects our harvest,” Evangelinos said.

He did not rule out that new conditions might arise. “In the past, with President Donald Trump, there were announcements, and they were withdrawn for olive oil. We hope the same will apply now,” Evangelinos said.

Local experts added that the new tariffs will affect the agrifood sector, which accounts for about 37 percent of all Greek exports to the U.S.

That represents a value of €450 million ($495 million) out of the total €2.4 billion ($2.64 billion) worth of Greek shipments to the U.S.

According to local media, many extra virgin olive oil producers risk losing competitiveness and market share in the U.S. in the medium term.

While most E.U. observers of the olive oil market concur that some time will pass before they understand the impact of the new tariffs, most operators and associations said a unified response from Brussels is needed.

“The E.U. cannot stand idly by in a world where trade balances are changing rapidly and Trump has wrecked the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements,” said Ricardo Serra, president of Asaja-Andalucía. 

Noting how the E.U. adapted its agricultural policies for years to meet WTO standards, Serra said, “We have removed tariffs and linked CAP subsidies to crop production, and now it turns out that overnight and in one fell swoop, Trump has blown all of that up.”

Besides olive oil, tariffs have been reduced to zero for sunflower oil, pasta, rice, meat, coffee, sugar, cookies, sardines and corn.

The goal of the Brazilian federal government is to support the purchasing power of households hit by high prices.

According to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, price increases have not been justified by rising production costs or inflation.

He cited meat prices rising by 20 percent in January and coffee by 50 percent in the same period.

Olive oil was included as its popularity has steadily grown among Brazilians over the last few decades, with consumers increasingly aware of its health benefits.

According to International Olive Council (IOC) data, Brazil consumed an annual average of 96,800 metric tons of olive oil over the last five years, compared to 23,700 tons between 2001 and 2005.

While several Brazilian producers recently gained international recognition for the high quality of their extra virgin olive oil, domestic demand still far outweighs national production.

Data analyzed by Olive Oil Times show that Brazilian olive oil production has surged from six tons in 2013 to 531 tons in 2023. 

Luis Planas, Spain’s Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, welcomed the news. He noted that Spanish food exports to Brazil totaled €122.9 million between October 2023 and September 2024.

Although Spain exported 11,284 tons of olive oil to Brazil in the first nine months of 2024, Portugal remains Brazil’s largest exporter of olive oil. In 2023, 60 percent of Brazil’s olive oil imports came from Portugal.

According to the UN Comtrade database, Italy is also a significant olive oil exporter, having shipped approximately 4,000 tons to Brazil in 2024.

Walter Zanre, the managing director of Filippo Berio UK, told Olive Oil Times that he expects Brazilian olive oil consumption to continue to rise as prices at origin fall in Europe.

“As prices [at origin decline], that’s a market where we’re very keen to set up an office,” he said. “Italy is the biggest market followed probably by the United States. We think that in time, Brazil might become the third biggest consumer of olive oil globally.”

All major olive oil exporters are expected to increase their market share in Brazil following the removal of tariffs.

Speaking at the Expoliva event in Jaén, in Spain’s key olive oil-producing region, Planas highlighted that Brazil’s decision sharply contrasts with the tariffs on food that the United States may soon implement. Around 20 percent of Spanish olive oil exports go to the United States.

While Brazil’s move is driven by its specific economic situation, it comes at a crucial time in trade relations between Brazil and the European Union, where most olive oil is produced.

Brazil and other Mercosur countries recently signed a free trade agreement with the European Union, a sharp contrast to U.S. tariff policies.

Should the agreement come into force, it would create the largest free trade area globally, with potential benefits for olive oil producers on both sides of the Atlantic.

• Cadena3
• La Vanguardia
• Adiex

“We gained experience in 2019 with a similar situation. Since then, we’ve developed contingency plans with our clients to respond effectively to possible crises, at least in the short term,” Sergio Massa, the founder and chief executive of Agritalia, told Olive Oil Times.

Agritalia accounts for six percent of Italian extra virgin olive oil exports to the United States and benefits from decades of experience.

“U.S. domestic production cannot satisfy olive oil demand,” Massa said. “Everyone at the table recognizes that we must collectively find a way to address potential tariffs positively.”

The producers behind Bono, the largest Sicilian olive oil exporter to the U.S., which established a multi-purpose facility in New Jersey less than two years ago, share Agritalia’s perspective.

“Tariffs targeting Italian olive oil would have a negative impact on Bono USA, as well as the broader industry,” said Salvatore Russo-Tiesi, president and chief executive of Bono USA.

“We remain hopeful that any trade or political issues can be resolved in a way that supports fair competition and consumer access to high-quality products,” he added.

U.S. olive oil imports have significantly accelerated since the 1990s. According to International Olive Council (IOC) data, U.S. imports grew from 90,000 metric tons in 1990/91 to 200,000 tons in 1999/2000.

This trend consolidated in subsequent years, reaching 258,000 tons in 2009/10 and 391,000 tons in 2019/20. The IOC expects imports to increase further in the current crop year, reaching 398,000 tons.

The U.S.‘s role as a significant global olive oil importer results from the consistently rising demand for the product.

“Throughout the 1980s, olive oil consumption steadily grew, but extra virgin olive oil remained just a niche segment of the market,” Massa recalled, noting the variety and different grades of olive oil available at the time.

“It wasn’t until the 1990s that extra virgin olive oil began gaining broader distribution, thanks largely to increased travel to Italy, the rising popularity of Mediterranean cuisine and the pivotal role played by the food service channel,” he explained.

In the last five years, overall U.S. olive oil consumption has twice exceeded 400,000 tons, approaching the consumption levels of Mediterranean olive oil-producing countries such as Spain and Italy.

However, total U.S. olive oil production for the current season is expected to reach only 10,000 tons.

Given this significant gap between consumption and domestic production, Italian exporters have strengthened their U.S. operations over recent years.

“The New Jersey facility has significantly boosted our U.S. business, enabling us to reach exciting new levels,” Russo-Tiesi said. “Having all operations housed in a state-of-the-art facility provides us full control over the supply chain, from Italy to the end consumer.”

“This has been crucial for maintaining quality control, optimizing logistics, enhancing marketing efforts and driving growth, all of which contribute to increased customer satisfaction,” he added.

Supply chain management and technological innovation have driven Agritalia’s development in the U.S.

The company explained that its automated replenishment program has reliably supplied Italian and European food products to North America for several years.

The program relies on proprietary software that analyzes sales data and accurately forecasts procurement needs for each customer.

“We realized there’s no need to keep inventory sitting in warehouses in the U.S.,” Massa said. “Our proprietary software can accurately forecast demand for any given product at any specific retailer, right down to the local area.” 

By leveraging detailed historical data spanning up to 104 weeks and specific information from retail partners, the company understands how each product performs at every distribution center, accounting for store trends, seasonal fluctuations, promotions and new store openings.

“Our predictions have proven incredibly precise, boasting a 97.5 percent accuracy rate,” Massa said. “Even special promotions and targeted offers are seamlessly integrated into our forecasting model well in advance.”

“This means we can inform every supply-chain partner up to three months ahead of time, ensuring what’s genuinely needed is shipped to distribution centers in the U.S.,” he added.

Through its affiliates, Agrilogistica and Agriusa, the company directly manages all operations, from extra virgin olive oil production to the final distribution.

To ensure complete control of extra virgin olive oil sold in the U.S. through its supply lines, Agritalia developed control procedures known as the Agritalia Sensory Chemical System (ASCS), working in collaboration with International Olive Council-certified laboratories.

The company describes it as a proprietary quality-control system designed to ensure authenticity, quality and traceability of extra virgin olive oil throughout the entire supply chain, from raw material selection to bottling and final distribution.

The system sets rigorous sensory and chemical specifications for each type of olive oil to successfully market products in the U.S., withstand logistics challenges, and preserve quality.

These chemical values, stricter than the IOC’s, are adjusted every six months because olive oil quality changes significantly over time following harvest and milling.

Through batch analyses, the company can guarantee that the product shipped from Italy is precisely the same product delivered to U.S. customers.

ASCS, annually certified by independent certification body FoodChain ID, relies on a network of IOC-certified laboratories to verify the products’ sensory profiles. The system also addresses specific logistics challenges affecting product quality.

“Some of our greatest challenges occur during winter, particularly in northern U.S. states such as Michigan, where extremely low temperatures can cause delays, sometimes lasting weeks, along rail transport routes,” Massa noted.

In such scenarios, containers may sit idle in terminals, requiring transfers and additional handling.

“Products risk freezing. During our studies, we’ve closely analyzed how freezing impacts extra virgin olive oil by examining samples shipped back to us,” Massa said.

While he said that the freezing and thawing do not significantly degrade any of the extra virgin olive oil’s quality parameters, Massa added that it can affect some sensory characteristics. 

“These insights were crucial. They’ve enabled us to define precise technical specifications that safeguard the product’s integrity throughout its shelf life, even under extreme conditions,” he said.

Beyond refining procedures and technologies, Italian exporters believe much work remains to bring high-quality extra virgin olive oil to the U.S. market.

“Consumer awareness remains a challenge,” Russo-Tiesi noted. “Many U.S. consumers may not fully recognize the differences between authentic, certified extra virgin olive oil and lower-quality alternatives.”

“That’s why continuous education and marketing are essential. We remain committed to vigorous outreach programs to highlight Bono extra virgin olive oil’s superior quality, traceability, and health benefits, ensuring consumers can make informed choices,” he concluded.

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. 

“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.

• Coldiretti
• International Olive Council

The interim agreement is expected to remain in place until the 27 E.U. member states approve a more comprehensive Advanced Framework Agreement.

“The existence of a framework treaty is very beneficial for Chile,” José Pablo Illanes, the general manager of award-winning producer and exporter Las Doscientos, told Olive Oil Times.

“This will allow Chilean companies to promote and sell their products more competitively to different countries in the European community,” he added. “Europe can become an interesting market for Chile.”

According to data from Chile’s national customs service, the country exported 17,502 metric tons of olive oil in 2023, valued at $117 (€108) million.

The United States (5,561 tons) and Brazil (5,437 tons) were the two leading destinations, followed by Spain (3,354 tons), Italy (1,308 tons) and Portugal (1,131 tons). Separate data from Eurostat show the rest of the E.U. imported about six tons of olive oil from Chile in 2023.

While most Chilean olive oil exports to Spain, Italy and Portugal are sold in bulk to large bottlers, who blend the oil and resell it under their brands, ChileOliva general manager Gabriela Moglia said the agreement opens new opportunities for producers to sell individually packaged olive oil elsewhere in the bloc.

“Non-producing countries of olive oil with high purchasing power such as France, Germany and Belgium demand a high quality product, which is in line with the Chilean offer,” she said. “Therefore, good opportunities could be generated to market Chilean olive oil in these countries with a zero percent tariff.”

While the agreement removes 99.9 percent of tariffs on E.U. exports to Chile and safeguards 216 European geographical indications, it offers little additional benefit to European olive oil exporters.

Tariffs on E.U. olive oil exports were gradually eliminated under a 2003 trade agreement between Chile and the E.U.

Eurostat data show the E.U. exported 417 tons of olive oil valued at €2.9 million to Chile in 2023, virtually all of which came from Spain (315 tons) and Italy (101 tons).

Despite the news, Illanes said Las Doscientos, which exports individually packaged olive oil rather than bulk, does not plan to significantly change its market strategy.

“The Brazilian market continues to be our priority, and it will not change in the short term,” he said. “But we believe there may be alternative niches [in Europe] that will pay for a better, high-quality extra virgin olive oil and Chile can be a supplier.”

Fernando Carrasco Spano, the chief executive of Olivos Ruta del Sol, said the award-winning company will use the free trade deal to test the higher end of the European olive oil market.

“The removal of tariffs with the European Economic Community is great news for our company, because it allows us to enter the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish super high-end markets, initially with bulk and then with packaged product under our brand,” he said.

“It will allow the extensive number of European high-quality consumers to have a novel alternative of fresh olive oils each year in May and June before the European harvest,” Carrasco Spano added.

José Manuel Reyes, the commercial director of Agricola Pobeña, said the agreement would provide the award-winning company with challenges and opportunities.

“Currently our presence in the E.U. markets is low, these agreements will facilitate the possibility of expanding the brand, by exporting with lower additional costs,” he said.

Carrasco Spano, Illanes, Moglia and Reyes said that the 11,000-ton limit is high enough given the country’s production levels and exports to other countries in the Americas and Asia.

Before the trade deal was signed, a 2024 report from Chile’s Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies identified the E.U. as a strategic market for increasing olive oil production and exports.

“In analyzing the European market for Chilean olive oil, current market conditions and the national situation could present a significant opportunity for investment in expanding the planted area of olive trees in Chile,” the report said.

The report also identified Australia, Brazil, China and Japan as markets with significant opportunities to increase Chilean exports.

Olive oil production in Chile dropped to 15,000 tons in 2024 due to extreme heat in the north and torrential rain in the country’s center. Moglia said the situation in the olive groves is better ahead of the 2025 harvest.

“We expect a better season than last year,” she confirmed. “We hope that it will continue like this and that there will be no climatic difficulties.”

With its olive groves in the Maule Valley, about three hours south of Santiago, Illanes confirmed that the situation looks promising for Las Doscientos, with the harvest set to begin in the coming months.

“We have had a good spring and summer with a calm, stable climate without significant variations,” he said. “There was a good fruit setting, and the olives are of a relevant size.”

“Of course, this is like a marathon,” Illanes added. “We are at kilometer 30 of the 42. We are doing well until kilometer 30 and in the final stretch.”

Carrasco Spano agreed and said Olivos Ruta del Sol, which grows olives in the central Chilean region of Valparaíso, expects a superior harvest in 2025 than in 2024.

For his part, Reyes said Agricola Pobeña, which cultivates 400 hectares of olive groves in the central O’Higgins region, also expects a favorable harvest.

“This winter was particularly rainy, which allowed us to accumulate enough water for the season,” he said. “We trust that this harvest will take place without weather events that could affect quality, as occurred in previous years.”

• European Commission
• ChileOliva

The new agreement establishes the largest free trade area in the world, uniting 720 million consumers.

The agreement will also encompass all significant economic sectors, including agriculture.

Negotiators from both sides of the Atlantic began working on the agreement in 1999.

According to the European Commission, removing tariffs will create a range of new opportunities.

Every year, E.U. countries export more than €80 billion of goods and services to Mercosur. European countries also account for more than €384 billion in investments within Mercosur economies.

In 2023, Mercosur exported €53.7 billion worth of mineral products, foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco and vegetable products to the E.U.

These economic ties position Mercosur as the tenth-largest trading partner of the European Union.

Brussels described the agreement as strategic, aiming to challenge China’s position as Mercosur’s primary trading partner.

Olive oil is also included in the various economic sectors the agreement covers.

E.U. olive oil exports to Mercosur currently face a 10 percent tariff, while Argentina applies a tariff of 31.5 percent.

The deal eliminates these tariffs, potentially enhancing the competitiveness of E.U. olive oil in Mercosur markets.

This has led to concern from producers across the Mercosur, many of whom worry that cheaper European olive oils will eat away at the market share of domestic producers.

“If an agreement were to be reached between the European Community and Mercosur, it would be a challenge and something that would not be very favorable for our category,” said Miguel Zuccardi, head of olive oil production at Mendoza, Argentina-based Familia Zuccardi.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Rafael Pico, deputy director of Asoliva, the Spanish national association representing olive oil producers and exporters, warned about the timeline for removing these tariffs.

“The Mercosur agreement for olive oil is not very advantageous for us,” he told Olive Oil Times. “The E.U. can import olive oils from Mercosur countries duty-free from day one. However, exporting from the E.U. to these countries is subject to a tariff that will be phased out over 15 years.”

In 2023, E.U. olive oil exports to Mercosur surpassed €493 million. According to the European Commission, removing tariffs could make E.U.-made products more appealing to Mercosur consumers.

Today, Brazil is one of the world’s largest olive oil importers, averaging approximately 90,000 metric tons annually over the past three seasons, according to International Olive Council (IOC) data.

Some large European olive oil producers voiced concern for the potential competitiveness of Argentinian olive oil exports.

Argentinian olive oil exports have averaged around 27,000 tons annually over the past three years.

The agreement includes provisions to protect geographical indications (GIs), ensuring that E.U.-certified quality olive oils are recognized and safeguarded against imitations in Mercosur countries.

From a broader agricultural perspective, European farmers are approaching the agreement with significant apprehension.

The new agreement extends to several critical sectors, including beef, poultry, sugar, rice, wine, spirits, dairy products, fruits and vegetables.

In some areas, the protocol introduces export volume limits to safeguard E.U. agriculture. The aim is to balance the anticipated imports from Mercosur with the needs of European farmers and food producers.

Major agricultural organizations in several European countries argue that limiting export quotas to the E.U. in areas such as beef or sugar will still fall short of protecting these sectors from the impact of large-scale imports of cheaper food from Mercosur.

Additionally, the rules governing the use of fertilizers, pesticides and additives differ significantly between the two blocs.

This creates disparities affecting production costs, productivity, food safety and labeling practices.

The differences in environmental approaches and sustainability practices have complicated negotiations for years.

French President Emmanuel Macron criticized the proposed agreement, stating it was signed by “countries that do not respect the Paris Agreement on climate change.”

Copa-Cogeca, representing millions of farmers and agri-food cooperatives across Europe, announced a new mobilization against the agreement.

While several protests have already occurred in Brussels, Madrid, and other European cities, the two organizations called on all farmers to raise their voices on Monday, December 16th.

“The evidence is overwhelming: Mercosur countries do not meet the production standards required of E.U. agriculture, whether in terms of plant protection products, animal welfare or sustainability practices,” Copa-Cogeca said.

“Mercosur nations also operate under lower labor and safety standards, enabling them to produce at lower costs, which makes fair competition impossible for E.U. producers,” the organizations remarked.

“This agreement will exacerbate the economic strain on many farms already grappling with high input prices and challenging climatic conditions,” warned Massimiliano Giansanti, president of Copa.

The Copa-Cogeca appeal will likely draw increasing attention from various sectors of the farming community.

The national Italian farming association Coldiretti labeled the agreement as “unacceptable.”

“The decision was made to severely penalize the agricultural sector with inconsistent regulations and unfair competition, fueling a race to the bottom in production costs, with non-reciprocal rules that disadvantage Italian and European agricultural businesses,” Coldiretti said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen responded to these criticisms.

“We have listened to the concerns of our farmers, and we acted on them. Our European health and food standards remain untouchable,” von der Leyen said. “Mercosur exporters will have to comply strictly with these standards to access the E.U. market.”

“This is the reality of an agreement that will save E.U. companies €4 billion worth of export duties per year,” she added.

Von der Leyen urged that the deal not be seen solely “as an economic opportunity” but as “a political necessity,” especially after the election of former President Donald J. Trump in the United States, who has threatened to impose tariffs on E.U. imports.

However, institutions in several European countries have already expressed their opposition to the deal.

Their stance is critical: for the agreement to come into force, it must first be approved by the Council of Ministers of the European Union, composed of ministers from all 27 member states.

If approved, the agreement will move to the E.U. Parliament, where many representatives have already expressed concerns or outright opposition.

A negative vote in the Council or the Parliament would prevent the agreement’s ratification.

France, Europe’s largest agricultural exporter, has been leading opposition to the agreement for years and has now reaffirmed its position.

Poland and the Netherlands appear to share this stance, while Belgium, Ireland and Austria will likely oppose the agreement.

Italy’s position is still under discussion. As an agricultural powerhouse and major E.U. economy, its opposition could play a decisive role in halting the ratification process.

Notably, Germany, Portugal, Sweden and Estonia have openly expressed support for the agreement.

Spain, a major olive oil producer, is also backing the agreement, though prominent farming organization, including the Young Farmers Association (Asaja), have announced their opposition and mobilization against it.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz described the agreement as pivotal for enhancing the E.U.’s economic resilience and strengthening the bloc’s geopolitical alliances. His support for the deal reverses the position of his predecessor, who was skeptical that Brazil would comply with rules around deforestation.

Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin praised the historic protocol. “it is the largest agreement between blocks in the entire world,” he said.

If the deal is approved, Alckmin noted, it could increase Brazilian exports to the European Union by 6.7 percent annually.

According to the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (ApexBrasil), Brazilian exports to the E.U. could rise from €103.5 billion to more than €110 billion.

“The agreement is good for our countries here in Mercosur, it is good for the European Union, but it is also good for the world, for global geopolitics,” Alckmin said.

“At a time of fragmentation, political tension throughout the world, two large blocks are opening up markets, signing a treaty, a great partnership,” he concluded.

• Financial Times
• Agencia Brasil
• Carta Capital