Olive Oil Market Data, Grades and Trade

Editorial evidence reviewedReviewed 2026-09-09Release 2026-09-19-batch-230

Market value

$11B

Producing countries tracked

9

Grading systems

1

Active supply risks

3

Trade corridors

3

Latest reviewed evidence

The figures below are the International Olive Council's provisional world olive-oil balance for crop year 2024/25, published in January 2026. They are dated sector aggregates—not a current lot offer, grade-specific quotation or live delivered price.

World olive-oil production

3.572

million tonnes · crop year 2024/25 provisional

World olive-oil consumption

3.215

million tonnes · crop year 2024/25 provisional

World olive-oil imports

1.198

million tonnes · crop year 2024/25 provisional

IOC-member production

3.392

million tonnes · crop year 2024/25 provisional

Virgin, refined and olive-pomace oils are separate products

Codex defines virgin olive oils as oils obtained from olive fruit solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions that do not alter the oil. Refined olive oil is produced by refining virgin olive oils, while olive-pomace oil comes from olive pomace and remains a separate category. USDA also distinguishes U.S. Extra Virgin, Virgin, Lampante, Olive Oil, Refined Olive Oil and multiple olive-pomace grades. Atlas retains the exact product category and processing history before comparing grade, production, price or trade evidence.

Grade chemistry, sensory result and provenance travel with the lot

Under the cited USDA standard, U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil requires a median of defects equal to zero, fruitiness greater than zero and free fatty acid content of no more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, plus the standard's additional requirements. U.S. Virgin allows free fatty acids up to 2.0 grams per 100 grams with a different sensory boundary. A comparable physical record therefore keeps the named standard, grade, laboratory method and results, sensory-panel result where applicable, crop and milling dates, cultivar or blend, filtration, storage, package, protected-origin evidence and certificate context attached.

World crop balances do not determine a delivered olive-oil price

The International Olive Council provisionally estimated 3.572 million tonnes of world olive-oil production, 3.215 million tonnes of consumption and 1.198 million tonnes of imports in crop year 2024/25. Those dated aggregates combine countries, cultivars, grades, crop dates, processing histories, bulk and packaged channels, and different delivery terms. A delivered price still requires a defined grade and lot, origin, analytical and sensory evidence, pack, quantity, destination, Incoterm, delivery window and current permitted physical evidence.

Questions procurement teams ask

Are extra virgin, virgin and refined olive oil interchangeable?

No. They have different production histories, sensory requirements, analytical limits and permitted uses under the cited standards. The exact category and grade must remain attached to every lot and price observation.

Is olive-pomace oil the same product as olive oil?

No. Codex and USDA define olive-pomace oils separately from olive oils. Pomace origin, refining status and blend composition must be explicit rather than collapsed into a generic olive-oil label.

What does the 3.572 million tonne figure represent?

It is the International Olive Council's provisional estimate of total world olive-oil production for crop year 2024/25. It spans product categories and origins and is not a current physical price.

Which fields make physical olive-oil offers comparable?

Product category and extraction or refining history, applicable standard and grade, free-acidity and other analytical results, sensory-panel result where required, cultivar or blend, origin and protected-origin certificate where applicable, harvest and milling dates, filtration, package or bulk format, lot and net quantity, traceability, currency, Incoterm, destination, delivery window and evidence date.