FAO.org

Among the world’s top olive oil exporters, one country continues to harvest olives by hand. In Tunisia, where olives have been cultivated since the time of the Phoenicians, workers climb ladders and sweep the branches with the aid of a small rake. 

While Italy, Spain and Greece – the world’s other major olive oil producers – have modernized their sectors by investing in new mill technology, storage facilities and marketing, Tunisia lags behind.

FAO and the EBRD are helping Tunisia keep pace with the highly competitive global olive oil market and respond to changing consumer demands by focusing on adding value, raising oil quality and ensuring the sector’s sustainability and inclusiveness. 

Public-private dialogue has helped foster knowledge sharing, identify better investment opportunities and improve the country’s policy environment for greater growth. A key milestone was the preparation of a strategic and operational plan for the olive oil sector, which was submitted to the Minister of Agriculture. 

More than 100 farmers and oil millers received training to help them become more competitive – from improved production and orchard management practices to better approaches for processing and storage. Thanks to a study tour organized by FAO and the EBRD to Italy’s Apulia region, a group of Tunisian olive growers, olive oil producers, traders, government representatives and other industry actors learned more about sector organization, modern production technologies and marketing practices from their Italian counterparts.   

FAO and the EBRD have also organized high-level round tables to discuss recent innovations, trends, quality control and improved irrigation, critical in a country as dry as Tunisia. 

After attending one such event, Fathi Kanzari, who specializes in organic olive oil, decided to modernize his operations. “My decision to install a two-phase extraction system and more advanced irrigation is already paying off. Our oil recently won the international Biol award for the best organic olive oil: bottled and ready for sale,” he said.

FAO and the EBRD recently launched a pilot project with a group of olive oil millers and farmers to highlight the need for further investment in the sector to consolidate results already achieved. 

Tunisia is gradually positioning itself in the global market for bottled organic oil – the first step in the country’s long-term strategic plan to turn its olive oil industry into a sustainable, competitive sector well equipped to respond to international demand.