Turkey's olive oil production plummets after last year's record harvest

Published Feb 29, 2024

Tridge summary

Turkey's olive oil production for the 2023/24 crop year is expected to significantly decrease due to unfavorable weather conditions and the trees' natural alternate bearing cycle, with the Turkish Olive and Olive Oil Council predicting a yield of 180,000 tons, a sharp drop from the previous year's 421,000 tons. Despite the reduced yield, high olive oil prices have benefited local farmers, but an export ban on bulk olive oil has negatively impacted exporters and international markets. The quality and quantity of olive oil in the Çanakkale region have also been affected, with rising acidity levels and dropping quality. High prices have put consumers in a difficult position, with some resorting to sunflower oil. The 2024/25 crop year is expected to be better, but final conclusions will be drawn in early summer.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

With the initial forecasts of a weak harvest for the 2023/24 crop year confirmed,Turkey is yet another Mediterranean producer to experience a drastically reduced olive oil yield this season. The official harvest estimate released by the Turkish Olive and Olive Oil Council (UZZK) in September predicted Turkey’s national olive oil production would reach a mere 180,000 tons this crop year. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also revised Turkey’s production total to 190,000 tons from an initial estimate of 280,000 tons due to unfavorable climatic conditions, which impacted production. In the previous 2022/23 crop year, Turkish producers enjoyed a record yield of 421,000 tons of olive oil. However, erratic weather last spring, which extended winter-like conditions in many of the country’s olive oil-producing regions, disrupted the fruit setting of olive trees. This, combined with an ‘off-year’ in the trees’ natural alternate bearing cycle, significantly reduced ...

Source: Olive Oil Times