Turkish Olive Oil and Where to Find It?

Olive oil is a vital product. In addition to being wonderfully delicious, it has an antioxidant effect and reduces the risk of cancer. Turkey is one of the few olive and olive oil producers in the world. The country is an olive field paradise, and by turning this opportunity into production, it has become a quality exporter. Olives produced by the sea are better in terms of taste, and in this regard, Turkey is very lucky and has a high potential. It aims to be the second globally with the production of 650 thousand tons of olive oil since 2020, increasing the olive tree presence from 90 million to 177 million, and the world leadership with 1 million 200 thousand tons of table olive production. Olives are grown in 41 of 81 provinces of the country and 270 of 843 districts. 53% of the production is made in the Aegean Region, 23% in the Mediterranean Region, 18% in the Marmara Region, 6% in the Southeastern Anatolia Region, and 0,2% in the Black Sea Region.

While 55% of the production is used as oil in the Aegean region, 60% of the production in the Marmara region is used as table olives. Olive production in Turkey has increased over the years. One of the most important reasons for this is the increase in production areas over the years. In recent years, olive production areas have increased, thanks to new olive groves and certified olive tree saplings. According to the statistics, 1,5 million tons of olives were produced in 2019. Approximately 75% of the total olive production consists of olives for oil.

Olive growing areas are concentrated in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions and have an increasing trend over the years. The most important provinces in olive cultivation are Aydın, Muğla, and İzmir. 1 million 525 thousand tons of olive was produced in İzmir in 2019. The most important provinces in olive oil production are Aydın, İzmir, Muğla, Balıkesir and Hatay. Hatay and Mersin come to the fore in olive oil production in the southern part of the Mediterranean and the Aegean regions, respectively.

Although olive oil production in the country changes due to fluctuations in olive production, it has an increasing trend, and Turkey is among the top five countries in the world.