Only 45.9% of the extra virgin olive oil (EVO) in Italy is domestically produced

.. the Italian product is down 36 per cent annually, while stocks from the EU are up 57.2 per cent, indicating a growing reliance on imports. Italy faces structural challenges: plant diseases such as Xylella [which has affected Italy’s most important olive-growing region and will not give up], prolonged drought, extreme weather events and afragmented agriculture

According to the most recent data, Italy produced around 240,000 tonnes of olive oil in the 2024/2025 campaign, down 90,000 tonnes from the previous year. However, domestic demand amounts to about 850-900,000 tonnes per year (domestic consumption of 550,000, plus 300-350,000 tonnes for export.

This results in a structural deficit of at least 610-660 thousand tonnes, covered through imports, mainly from Tunisia, Spain, Greece and other EU and non-EU countries…

In essence, Italian oil covers roughly 27% of requirements (domestic consumption and exports).

On this subject , olive oil is a good parameter for assessing the static nature of Italian agriculture, but also because the oil we put on the table is often very bad. Worth mentioning: a bill defining Italian extra virgin quality for the first time even though, unfortunately, Italian oil and supermarkets have once again become INCOMPATIBLE.

Below: Xylella and undercutting are two of the many problems of extra virgin oil

Compiled 21 June, updated 8 August 2025