Tunisia expects a better olive harvest than that of the past season, provided that fall is rainy. This is said of Mohamed Nasraoui, secretary general of the National Federation of Olives Producers under the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP), this Monday, October 6, 2025.
According to him, the autumn rains are decisive to fix the final estimates of the production. He added that the agricultural organization took part in several meetings with the Ministry of Agriculture and has made various recommendations for the next campaign. These proposals relate in particular to the financing of harvesting, the storage of oil and the intervention of the National Oil Office (ONH), which plays a central role in market regulation.
Regarding storage capacity, Nasraoui assured that it is not a problem. Tunisia, according to him, has a capacity of more than 400,000 tonnes of olive oil, including 100,000 tonnes managed by ONH. However, he highlighted the need for adequate funding for storage, both for oil centers and for exporters. “The producer is ready, the harvest is there, it is now necessary to finance storage,” he said.
UTAP argues that storage grants cover at least the cost of monthly banking interest in order to support the sector.
In terms of exports, Tunisia has sent 252,000 tonnes of olive oil until the end of last August. The difficulties generally appear during the period of harvest peak, between mid-December and the end of January. “If we manage to regulate the offer during this period, we can sell our oil without difficulty,” said Nasraoui.
The manager has also highlighted the progress made in the valuation of conditioned olive oil. Over 30,000 tonnes of Tunisian oil were exported in bottles last season, a historic record. He hopes that the next campaign will further increase these volumes.
