Croatian Producers Call for Stronger Branding After Another Record NYIOOC Showing
Croatian olive oil producers captured 128 awards at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition, including 103 gold medals, positioning the country second globally behind Italy. The achievement reflects an 89% success rate from 144 entries, one of the highest among major competitors. Despite a modest annual output of 3,500‑5,000 tons—tiny compared with Spain’s 1.3 million tons—the quality of Croatian oils earned widespread acclaim. Producers are now urging stronger national branding, coordinated promotion, and olive‑oil tourism support to translate accolades into market growth.
Turkish Producer Brings Native Cultivars to U.S. Market
Zagoda Olive Oil, founded by Ceren Su Sahin, is exporting single‑varietal Turkish extra‑virgin olive oils to the United States from a family grove of over 16,500 trees. The producer emphasizes early harvest, same‑day milling and a two‑phase continuous extraction system to lock...
Supply Rebound Pushes Prices Down as Uncertainty Clouds Outlook
European olive oil production rebounded sharply in 2024/25, rising 37% to about 2.1 million tonnes, driven primarily by a 66% surge in Spain and strong gains in Greece. The surge pushed extra‑virgin prices down from a peak of €8.3 ($9.1) per...
Family Project Revives Abandoned Groves in Italy’s Sannio Region
Settemisure, a family‑run olive oil brand founded in 2018, rebuilt its grandparents' grove after the catastrophic 2015 Benevento flood and has since expanded to restore abandoned groves across the Sannio region. By focusing on native cultivars such as Ortolana, Racioppella,...
2026 NYIOOC Results Show Shifting Patterns in Global Olive Oil Quality
The 2026 Northern Hemisphere NYIOOC saw 1,021 entries from 29 countries, awarding 464 Gold and 234 Silver medals. Italy remained the top performer with 166 awards, while Croatia surged with 103 Golds, cementing its rising stature. Greece, despite a challenging...
Rome Festival Celebrates Olio Di Roma PGI and the City’s Olive Oil Heritage
Rome hosted the inaugural Olio di Roma PGI Festival from April 10‑21, celebrating the city’s centuries‑old olive oil heritage. The event combined tastings, culinary demos, school workshops, and a book launch, culminating in the L’Eterno Award ceremony at the historic Curia...
In Algeria’s Harsh Interior, Dahbia Builds an Award-Winning Olive Oil
Dahbia Olive Oil, cultivated on 40 hectares in Algeria’s semi‑arid Djelfa plateau, earned a Silver Award at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition. Founder Hakim Alileche planted 15,000 trees and adopted organic, early‑harvest practices that prioritize low yields...
Tunisian Producer Blends Tradition and Technology to Raise Olive Oil Quality
Les Montagnes du Nord, a family‑owned Tunisian estate, won a Silver Award at the 2026 NYIOOC for its Chetoui monovarietal Cirta olive oil. The 100‑hectare farm blends certified organic, hand‑harvested practices with a continuous‑phase mill and irrigates 10,000 trees to...
Used Cooking Oil Finds New Life in Innovative Materials for Cars, Homes
Italian researchers at the University of Pisa have demonstrated that used cooking oil can be chemically converted into polyols, the key building block for polyurethane foams, phase‑change heat‑storage panels, and bio‑lubricants. Funded by Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the...
Heart Association’s New Guidance Recommends Olive Oil and Other Unsaturated Fats
The American Heart Association’s 2026 dietary guidance upgrades its recommendations, placing olive oil, soybean oil and canola oil among the preferred sources of unsaturated fat. The new guidance pivots from focusing on individual nutrients to endorsing whole‑food dietary patterns that...
Portuguese Olive Oils Find New Path to U.S. Market
Portuguese olive oil producer collective Wildly Virgin has curated a portfolio of single‑origin, small‑batch oils that recently secured three gold medals at the New York International Olive Oil Competition. The brand works with family‑run farms across Alentejo, Ribatejo and Trás‑os‑Montes,...
Gold Awards Highlight Montenegro’s Quality-First Olive Oil Ambitions
Montenegro’s publicly owned producer Kuća Maslina secured its first Gold Award at the 2026 New York International Olive Oil Competition with the monovarietal Mirovica, a Žutica‑based oil rooted in the historic Stara Maslina tree. The mill combines traditional hand‑picking and...
Turkey Seeks Greater Returns From Olive Oil Expansion
Turkey’s olive sector has doubled its tree count to about 200 million, delivering a record 475,000 metric tons in the 2024/25 harvest and cementing its place as the world’s second‑largest producer. Despite the volume surge, 40 % of the oil is still shipped...
NYIOOC Unveils Marketplace for Fresh, Award-Winning Olive Oils
The New York International Olive Oil Competition (NYIOOC) has launched a multilingual e‑commerce platform, oliveoilshop.com, that sells only current‑year award‑winning extra‑virgin olive oils. The marketplace connects consumers in Europe, the United States and Canada directly with producers and authorized distributors,...
Trade Agreements Extend Europe’s Food Quality Rules Beyond Its Borders
The European Union is embedding its geographical indication (GI) system into major trade agreements, extending protected food‑quality standards to markets in Latin America, Oceania, Japan, Canada, China and India. Recent deals with Australia and the Mercosur bloc will recognize hundreds...