EU Olive Oil and Table Olive Export Value Falls 13% in First Half of 2026
EU exports of olive oil and table olives fell 13% year on year to €2.812 billion in January-June 2026. Lower prices and a 7% decline in shipments to four major overseas markets both contributed to the contraction.
Lower prices compound weaker shipment volumes
The value of European Union exports of olive oil and table olives fell to €2.812 billion in the first six months of 2026, down 13% from the same period of 2025, Teatro Naturale reported, citing the European Commission’s latest trade report. The result reflects both declining international olive oil prices and weaker shipments to several important destinations.
Average prices decreased by 6%, while export volumes sent to the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan fell by 7%. The simultaneous decline in prices and quantities means the sector cannot attribute the lower export revenue solely to the normalization of quotations after the exceptionally high levels recorded in recent years. European suppliers also sold less product in four established overseas markets.
The United States was a particularly significant source of weakness. Total EU agri-food exports to the US declined by 11% year on year to €13.462 billion between January and June. According to the Commission, the comparison was affected by unusually high exports in early 2025, when companies may have brought shipments forward in anticipation of tariffs announced by the US administration. Olive oil recorded declines in both value and volume.
EU agri-food trade also loses ground
The olive oil downturn formed part of a broader, though more moderate, decline in EU agri-food exports. Total shipments were worth €117.2 billion in the first half, 2% below the corresponding period of 2025. Lower exports of olive oil, cocoa and pork made the largest negative contributions to the overall result.
Performance varied substantially by destination. The United Kingdom remained the largest market for EU agri-food products, although export value fell 3% to €26.966 billion. Sales to Japan declined 12% to €3.580 billion, while exports to the United Arab Emirates dropped 25% to €1.195 billion.
Other markets expanded. EU agri-food exports to Egypt increased by 28% to €1.298 billion, and those to India also rose 28%, reaching €856 million. Ukraine increased its purchases by 12% to €2.320 billion. These gains show that demand was not uniformly weak, but the source did not provide olive-oil-specific figures for those destinations.
June recovery does not erase first-half decline
Monthly data offered a more positive signal. EU agri-food exports reached €20.3 billion in June, rising 5% from May and 6% from June 2025. That improvement was not sufficient to offset the decline accumulated over the full six-month period.
EU agri-food imports also decreased in the first half, falling 4% year on year to €93.4 billion. June imports totaled about €15.7 billion, up 1% from May and 2% from a year earlier. The half-year import decline was driven mainly by reduced purchases of cocoa products, cereals and soybean meal.
For olive oil producers, processors and exporters, the central challenge is the combination of a 6% price decline and lower volumes in major non-EU markets. Defending market share will be especially important in the United States and other established destinations, while growth in the EU’s wider agri-food trade with Egypt, India and Ukraine points to potential diversification opportunities that still need to be assessed at the product level.
