Turkish olive oil exports are expected to increase to 134,000 tonnes – more than triple the five-year average – according to preliminary forecasts by the International Olive Oil Council (IOC) reported by Olive Oil Times.
Following a record harvest of 420,000 tonnes, the export figure would be almost three times higher than last year, when shipments from the country totalled 58,000 tonnes, the 3 April report said.
Confirming the IOC’s export figure, Mustafa Tan, chairman of the board of Turkey’s National Olive and Olive Oil Council (UZZK), was quoted as saying the increase was partly due to a sharp drop in global olive oil production.
“… These figures will be realised with a high degree of accuracy in the current year,” Tan told Olive Oil Times. “Of course, there may be some updates due to the earthquake zone. But this year, Turkey will increase its olive oil and olive exports in every way. This is… closely related to the lack of supply in the world.”
“In 2022/23, the opportunity for Turkey has come from lowered production in Spain,” Can Candeger, a managing partner at Artem Oliva, one of Turkey’s largest olive oil producing and exporting companies, told Olive Oil Times.
“This situation has created a double advantage for the Turkish olive oil industry,” he added. “We are in line with the IOC’s projection of around 130,000 to 140,000 tonnes of olive oil exports this season. The reason for our expectations being higher than the linear increase compared to the production trend is mainly because of the additional competitive advantage Turkey has gained.”
The Turkish government introduced a ban on bulk olive oil exports in 2021 and again last year to address market imbalances and rising prices, although industry experts and exporters’ associations disputed the necessity of export bans, Olive Oil Times wrote.
