Current Development Of The Tunisian Olive Oil Industry

The Tunisian olive oil industry is increasingly focused on developing organic processing and marketing of organic olive oil as a strategy to increase exports.

In the last 10 years, the production of organic olive oil in Tunisia has increased rapidly, from 670 tons in 2004 to 60,000 tons in 2015; while exports increased from 2,100 tons in 2004 to 13,500 tons in 2015. At the same time, the value of Tunisian organic exports surged from 2 million euros to 200 million euros in 15 years.

In fact, Tunisia already seems to be a leader in organic agricultural exports. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Tunisia produces three times as much certified organic olive oil as Spain and is the second largest exporter of organic products in Africa.

Ninety-five percent of Tunisia's olive groves use traditional practices and do not use any pesticides, but many producers who follow organic practices have not yet been certified, most likely because of the high costs involved.

According to the China-Africa Trade Research Center, Tunisia has more than 100 olive processing plants certified organic.

Currently, more and more Tunisian producers are looking to improve the quality and efficiency of their production process by investing in upgrading their equipment and installing irrigation systems, while olive processing plants are being upgraded to two-stage extraction systems.

As the potential of Tunisia's organic olive oil industry is further unlocked, the country is expected to see continued growth in the organic industry and exports of its products.