Record Olive Oil Harvest Faces High Cost Headwinds

October 1, 2026 · GıdaTarım

Despite expectations of a record olive oil harvest reaching up to 600,000 tons, high labor costs and insufficient processing capacity pose a risk of the produce remaining unharvested.

While Turkey's olive and olive oil sector is facing one of the highest harvest volumes in its history this season, there are serious concerns about disruptions in the product processing stages. Hilmi Sürek, a Board Member of Tariş Olive and Olive Oil Union and a Member of the Aegean Region Chamber of Industry Council, stated in an assessment that the harvest could reach the 500,000 to 600,000-ton range this season. Emphasizing the risk of olives remaining unharvested due to industrial infrastructure and capacity limitations, despite this massive increase in production, Hilmi Sürek summarized the sectoral picture with the following words:

Among the most fundamental problems faced by producers are olive harvesting expenses and rapidly rising labor wages. Hilmi Sürek noted that olive oil is selling wholesale at 200 Turkish Lira per liter and stated that the removal of sectoral support payments is making producers' situations even more difficult. Pointing out that the processing costs in countries like Spain and Morocco, a new entrant to the global market, are much lower, Hilmi Sürek made the following assessment:

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