Officials in Turkey have prohibited bulk olive oil exports until November 1st, citing rising domestic prices.
The combination of the country’s record-breaking olive oil production in the 2022/23 crop year, combined with poor harvests in southern Europe and North Africa, has led to a spike in global olive oil prices and increased demand for Turkish olive oil.
According to the country’s trade ministry, Turkish olive oil exports by volume from November 2022 to July 2023 increased by 240 percent compared to the same period of the previous season and reached 136,500 tons.
See Also:Concerns Mount Over Olive Oil Shortage in SpainOver the same period, higher-value packaged exports rose by 3 percent, while bulk olive oil exports quintupled. As a result, bulk olive oil exports increased from 42 percent of total exports to 83 percent.
The ministry attributed the meteoric rise in bulk exports to increased demand from bottlers in Spain and Italy, which bought 21 and 44 times more bulk olive oil, respectively, from November 2022 to July 2023 compared to the same period in the previous season.
According to the International Olive Council, Turkey’s olive oil exports are projected to reach a record-high 134,000 tons in the current crop year, which runs from October 2022 to September 2023.
However, the ministry also cited high customs duties imposed by the European Union on individually-packaged imports for the much lower increase in demand and cited these trade restrictions as a reason to prohibit bulk exports.
The significant rise in bulk exports combined with low harvest expectations for the 2023/24 crop year has also contributed to the 102-percent rise in olive oil prices in Turkey from June 2022 to June 2023.
Over the same period, prices in Spain, Italy and Greece rose by 84 percent, 58 percent and 72 percent, respectively.
Along with its dismay at European restrictions on individually packaged exports, the ministry cited rising domestic prices as another reason to prohibit bulk exports.
The bulk olive oil export ban is the third one in as many years. In April 2021, the country’s trade ministry imposed a five-month ban on bulk olive oil exports, citing uncertainty caused by the unfurling Covid-19 pandemic.
Almost exactly a year later, in April 2022, the ministry moved to prohibit bulk olive oil exports due to concern over shortages in the country and skyrocketing inflation. The ban remained in place until the end of the year.
This year’s export prohibition appears to fall in line with the country’s broader export strategy, which aims to increase its export-to-import ratio by 80 percent by shifting away from low-quality bulk exports to higher-quality added-value exports across a range of sectors: from technology to agricultural goods.
“We are working with all our strength to reach the export target of $265 billion for 2023,” said Mustafa Gültepe, president of the Turkish Exporters Assembly.
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