Tunisian olive oil overtakes Spanish extra virgin as Mediterranean prices invert
Imported Tunisian extra virgin olive oil now trades in Europe at about €4.20/kg, above Spanish extra virgin at €3.65/kg and even some Italian lots. The unusual inversion reflects Tunisia's sold-out export crop, a Spanish deodorization glut and heat-stressed harvests.
Tunisian oil climbs above Spanish and some Italian grades
Imported Tunisian extra virgin olive oil now trades in Europe at about €4.20 per kilogram, placing it above Spanish extra virgin and even above some Italian lots, according to the trade publication Teatro Naturale. The level marks a sharp move from the quotations seen in November and December and reverses the usual price hierarchy across the Mediterranean.
Spanish extra virgin, quoted by PoolRed at €3.65/kg on 14 July 2026, is attempting a recovery after slipping to €3.55/kg on 9 July. Lampante oil, the lower grade destined for refining, touched a period high of €3.03/kg on 7 July before easing to €2.98/kg on 14 July. Virgin olive oil has held steady at just above €3.25/kg.
Why Spanish grades move against each other
Teatro Naturale points to an unusual pattern: when lampante rises, Spanish extra virgin falls, and vice versa — the opposite of the historical norm, where the various virgin grades track one another. The driver is deodorization. Large volumes of Spanish lampante produced since January are being turned into "extra virgin" through the process. When refiners buy lampante for deodorization its price rises, the resulting extra virgin supply expands and its price drops. Once the deodorized flow ends, extra virgin recovers, as it is doing now.
The main buyers of Spanish deodorized oil, the publication reports, are Italian firms — particularly bottlers producing private-label products for large-scale retail. Private label has become highly profitable for retailers, combining high margins, good product rotation and favourable shelf positioning.
Italian quotations and the Tunisian squeeze
The same logic reaches Italian extra virgin. Teatro Naturale cites questionable purchases of national oil at €5.30 per litre delivered; stripping out at least €1.30 per litre of industrial and logistics costs implies a procurement price near €4/kg, equivalent to Tunisian oil. Some lots have been sold at €4.50/kg, but real Italian extra virgin quotations sit closer to €5/kg, with Foggia priced at €4.85/kg by Ismea Mercati on 9 July.
Many trades go unrecorded on the commodity exchanges, settled by word of mouth rather than official indicators. The situation is straining mill operators, who in closed-door meetings have threatened lockouts or holding back olives at low prices.
Tunisian trade is currently at a minimum because of scarce availability: Tunisia had sold practically all of its export production by March. Spanish ports, meanwhile, remain full of oil bought at the start of the campaign, a buffer that has helped cool Spanish prices during moments of tension. Spanish end-of-campaign stocks stand at 260,000 tonnes, below last year's level, while heat waves across Andalusia and other olive-growing regions are putting traditional production at risk.
